French Navy receives first ATL2 maritime patrol planes upgraded to standard 6

The French naval air station Lann-Bihoué received the first two ATL2 maritime patrol aircraft upgraded to standard 6 in late October.

Carried out by Dassault Aviation, the aircraft upgrades included the installation of a Thales Search Master with active antenna, a new Thales acoustic subsystem to gather and process signals from the air-dropped sonobuoys for submarine detection, and a new navigation console designed by Dassault Aviation.

Additionally, new consoles for the tactical display subsystem, developed by SIAé, have been installed.

The contract for the upgraded (standard 6) ATL2 combat system was awarded by the defense procurement agency DGA on October 4, 2013.

The program covers a fleet of 18 aircraft. Dassault Aviation said it would deliver a further five upgraded ATL2s in the period 2020-2023. In parallel, the SIAé aeronautical maintenance center will upgrade 11 aircraft.

The upgrade work is performed by Dassault Aviation and Thales (co-contractors), in association with Naval Group and in cooperation with SIAé.

The standard 6 upgrade will improve the aircraft’s capability to support the strategic ocean force, to deal with modern threats (future nuclear or conventional submarines, naval forces at sea, etc.) and to support air-land missions, until 2030.