1st Torpedo Launched from C295

• Airbus Military successfully conducted the first torpedo launch from one of its C295 Maritime Patrol Aircraft

(May 7, 2010) -- This represents an important milestone in the development of the antisubmarine version of the C295 MPA. It is also a significant entry for Airbus Military into the market of Anti Submarine Warfare (ASW) aircraft, currently dominated by veteran aircraft such as the P-3 Orion and the Atlantique.

The C295 MPA/ASW includes two under-wing pylons for the installation of torpedoes and other external loads. It also incorporates a Store Management System (SMS), integrated with the Airbus Military Fully Integrated Tactical System (FITS), to control the deployment of sonobuoys for submarine detection and torpedoes.

The C295 MPA has a flight endurance of over 11 hours, and it is used for a wide variety of missions: Search and Rescue (SAR), control of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), law enforcement, marine pollution detection, as well as defence missions. The C295 platform, a multi-mission short / medium range tactical transport aircraft, offers high manoeuvrability and excellent qualities for low-altitude flying. In addition, it has been widely tested in all kinds of aerial deployments: launch of chains of SAR rafts, emergency equipment and parachutists.

With this new version, Airbus Military increases the capabilities offered by its surveillance aircraft family.

Source : Airbus, an EADS N.V. company (Paris: EAD.PA)