1st Flight of Thales SEARCHMASTER radar on French Navy Atlantique 2 Maritime Patrol Aircraft

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Naval Aviation News - France
 
 
 
1st Flight of Thales SEARCHMASTER radar on French Navy Atlantique 2 Maritime Patrol Aircraft
 
Thales announced the first flight of the SEARCHMASTER radar, developed as part of France’s Atlantique 2 (ATL2) maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) upgrade programme, and available for export. According to Thales, this major milestone for the ATL2 upgrade and the SEARCHMASTER is proof of the advanced state of development and maturity of the radar, just two years after the contract was awarded.
     
Thales announced the first flight of the SEARCHMASTER radar, developed as part of France’s Atlanitique 2 (ATL2) maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) upgrade programme, and available for export. According to Thales, this major milestone for the ATL2 upgrade and the SEARCHMASTER is proof of the advanced state of development and maturity of the radar, just two years after the contract was awarded.
SEARCHMASTER on the ATL 2 MPA. Picutre: © DGA
     
This phase started on 29th January and was prepared in partnership with Dassault Aviation. It marks the start of the 6-month flight test campaign. Flight testing will involve an integrated team, with personnel from Thales, the French defence procurement agency (DGA) flight test centre and the French Navy (“CEPA” or operational fly test and evaluation centre). During the campaign, the radar will be tested in real-life operating environments (air-to-surface, air-to-ground and air-to-air operations).
     
Video: Searchmaster radar
     
The first production radars is set to be delivered in the first half of 2017.

The SEARCHMASTER from Thales is an airborne surveillance radar with an active electronically scanned array antenna, offering truly multirole capabilities and extremely high levels of naval or land threat detection performance. It meets the requirements of five mission types: anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare, maritime patrol, air-to-ground missions and tactical air support.