Turkey Accepts Maritime Patrol Aircraft Package

[tigershark]

Turkey Accepts Maritime Patrol Aircraft Package
By pierre tran
Published: 30 Apr 13:18 EDT (09:18 GMT)
PARIS - Turkey has accepted a first package of mission equipment for maritime patrol aircraft under the Meltem contract, prime contractor Thales said.

"The Turkish SSM [Undersecretariat for Defense Industries] has accepted the first Thales Maritime Patrol Mission Equipment Package that will be installed by Alenia on the first of ten ATR-72 within the framework of the Meltem II program," the French systems company said in an April 29 statement.
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Thales included a provision of 53 million euros ($82 million) for an undisclosed program when it announced 2007 results in March. The charge was for the Meltem program, an industry official said.

A Thales spokeswoman declined to confirm the provision. "The program is of extreme complexity and is very innovative," she said. "This is the biggest maritime patrol program in Europe, involving work in three countries."

The Meltem II program is on track and on schedule, the company statement said.

Besides equipping the 10 ATR aircraft, Thales is due to deliver mission systems for a further nine CN-235 tactical military aircraft being built by ITPN of Indonesia.

Thales and Turkish companies involved in the systems integration are validating milestones in the schedule defined by the customer, the company said.

A first flight of the Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) No. 1 is planned for this summer, following the June 2007 maiden flight of the Maritime Surveillance Aircraft (MSA) No.1.

Under the schedule of CN235 deliveries, five aircraft - two MPA and three MSA versions - are due to be delivered in 2009, and the remaining four in 2010, the spokeswoman said.

A first ATR-72 fitted with the mission package is due to fly in 2010, with delivery in 2011, she said.

The Meltem contract, worth about $400 million, went into effect July 8, 2003, after a signing in September 2002. Under the deal, Thales will equip 19 aircraft of the Turkish Coast Guard and Navy with the Airborne Maritime Situation and Control System (AMASCO). The system comprises a tactical command subsystem with a range of sensors, including radar, electronic support measures, acoustic and communication systems.

Source
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=3505404&c=SEA&s=TOP