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Airbus has matured its concept for a maritime patrol aircraft based on its A320 narrowbody product line with proposals for a platform based on the newest member of the family, the proposed A321XLR.
Presenting a model of the proposed aircraft at the Euronaval defense exhibition in Paris, held Nov. 4-7, Airbus says the selection of the A321 airframe with its longer fuselage will enable a larger payload bay to be fitted behind the wing than would have been possible on the shorter A320. Choosing the A321XLR, with its increased fuel capacity, also gives the aircraft more range and endurance, with the commercial A321XLR featuring a range of 4,700 nm.
Airbus has been developing the concept under an 18-month contract issued by the French defense materiel agency DGA in early 2023. Airbus was awarded one of two contracts. The other was given to Dassault Aviation to look at whether their selected platforms could be developed into an economically attractive replacement for France’s turboprop-powered Dassault Atlantique 2 aircraft.
Dassault has proposed a modified version of its Falcon 10X business jet.
A program to replace the Atlantique 2s could start in 2026, with entry into service in 2030-2040.
As well as an enlarged rear fuselage to accommodate a payload bay and sonobuoy launch systems, the proposed A321MPA features a series of sensors on the lower forward fuselage, including an electro-optical camera system. Large observation windows are fitted behind the cockpit, and blisters, likely for the fitment of electronic support measures, are fitted mid-fuselage forward of the engines. No magnetic anomaly detector appears to be fitted, as with the Boeing P-8 Poseidon.
Such a platform could end up being a competitor to the P-8, which has captured much of the long-range maritime patrol aircraft market in recent years. There have been sales to Canada, Norway, South Korea, the UK, and—frustratingly for France —to Germany. France had previously partnered with Germany on the Maritime Airborne Warfare System (MAWS) program to develop an multimission platform for maritime patrol. France now considers that joint effort closed, after Berlin’s decision to buy the P-8.
The A321MPA is the latest in a series of special mission variants proposed for the A321 airframe.
In the early 2000s the A321 was selected to be the platform for NATO’s Alliance Ground Surveillance system and would carry a battlefield surveillance radar. But NATO ultimately opted for a system carried by the Northrop Grumman Global Hawk UAV. More recently, the Indian Air Force has selected the A321 as its future airborne early warning and control aircraft. Six A321s, to be known as Netra Mk.2, will carry an active electronically scanned array radar in a ski-box-like fairing on the upper fuselage. The Indian Air Force has acquired six former Air India A321s ready for conversion.
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