Bréguet 1150 Atlantic

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Br%C3%..._1150_Atlantic

The Breguet Br.1150 Atlantic is a long-range maritime patrol aircraft designed
and manufactured by Breguet Aviation. Introduced to service in 1965, it has been
operated by several NATO countries, commonly performing maritime roles such as
reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare. The Atlantic is also capable of
carrying air-to-ground munitions to perform ground-attack missions; a small
number of aircraft were also equipped to perform ELINT operations. An updated
version, the Atlantique 2 or ATL2, was produced by Dassault Aviation for the
French Navy in the 1980s. Other operators of the Atlantic have included the
German Navy, the Italian Air Force, the Pakistan Navy, and the Royal Netherlands
Navy.

In 1958 NATO produced a specification for a long-range maritime patrol aircraft
to replace the Lockheed P2V Neptune, with Breguet's design, the Br 1150, chosen
as the winner of the competition at the end of the year. A multinational
consortium, Société d'Étude et de Construction de Breguet Atlantic (SECBAT) was
set up to develop and build the Atlantic. The first prototype made its maiden
flight at Toulouse on 21 October 1961, with the second prototype flying on 25
February 1962, followed by two preproduction aircraft with a longer fuselage in
February 1963 and September 1964.

An initial order for 60 Atlantics – 40 for France and 20 for Germany – was
placed in 1963, with deliveries starting in 1965 and continuing to 1968. The
production line had shut down by the time the Netherlands placed an order for
nine Atlantics and Italy ordered eighteen. Aircraft from this second production
batch were delivered from 1972 to 1974.

In 1978, the French Government authorised development of a new, updated version
of the Atlantic, the Atlantic Nouvelle Génération (later known as the Atlantique
2 when orders from other nations did not occur). While the airframe and engines
of the new aircraft changed little, equipment and avionics were considerably
revised; these included new radar, a new sonar processor, a replacement tactical
computer, and a forward-looking infrared camera turret installed under the nose.
The ability to carry Exocet missiles was also added. Two prototype Atlantique 2s
were produced by converting existing Atlantics; the first of these made its
maiden flight on 8 May 1981. Production of the Atlantique 2 was authorised on 24
May 1984. Deliveries started in 1989 with 28 eventually built, from an original
requirement for 42.

The Breguet Br.1150 Atlantic is a twin-engined, mid-winged monoplane with a
"double-bubble" fuselage; the upper lobe comprising a pressurised crew
compartment, and the lower lobe housing a 9 m (27 ft 6 in) long weapons bay,
with sonobuoy tubes aft of the weapons bay. A radar scanner is housed in a
retractable underfuselage radome, while a magnetic anomaly detector is housed in
a tail boom. It is powered by a pair of Rolls-Royce Tyne turboprop engines. An
all-aluminium structure is used throughout the Atlantic's airframe; corrosion is
alleged to be a considerable problem due to environmental factors imposed by the
maritime environment.

The Atlantic was designed for its purpose, instead of refitting or modifying
existing designs. Though the primary mission of the Atlantic is anti-submarine
and anti-surface warfare, its secondary roles include search and rescue, mine
laying and detection and long-range maritime surveillance. The Atlantic can
carry either eight guided ASW torpedoes such as Mk 46 Torpedo, or 12 depth
charges, or two AM.39 Exocet anti-ship missiles in its internal bomb bay. German
Atlantics usually carried Mk 46s only and flew unarmed during the last years of
their service. Italian Atlantics have been periodically armed with NATO-provided
nuclear bombs.


Role
Maritime patrol aircraft

Manufacturer
Breguet Aviation

First flight
21 October 1961

Introduction
1965

Status
Active service

Primary users
French Navy
German Navy
Italian Air Force
Royal Netherlands Navy

Produced
1961–1987

Number built
87 Atlantique 1
28 Atlantique 2

Unit cost

$35 Million

In 1987, a single Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) Atlanique was operated by France
as an airborne headquarters during Opération Épervier, the French intervention
against Libyan military units which had been deployed into neighbouring Chad.
Communications intercepted by the Atlantique were immediately decoded and
translated before being used to conduct strikes upon Libyan forces with greater
accuracy.

The German Marineflieger operated a fleet of Atlantics between 1963 and 2005. A
number of these aircraft were modified for SIGINT work and were based at
Nordholz Naval Airbase. During the Cold War, they commonly flew across the
Baltic Sea and along the border with East Germany; these flights often had
American and British intelligence personnel on board in addition to their German
crews. During the 1990s, Germany deployed SIGINT Atlantics to observe the United
Nations embargo of Yugoslavia and for reconnaissance flights during the Kosovo
War in 1999.

Specifications (Atlantique 2)

General characteristics
Crew: 12
Capacity: 12 passengers or relief crew
Length: 31.62 m (103 ft 9 in)
Wingspan: 37.42 m (122 ft 9 in) including wingtip pods
Height: 10.89 m (35 ft 9 in)
Wing area: 120.34 m2 (1,295.3 sq ft)
Empty weight: 25,700 kg (56,659 lb)
Gross weight: 45,000 kg (99,208 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 46,200 kg (101,854 lb)
Powerplant: 2 × Rolls-Royce Tyne RTy.20 Mk 21 2-spool turboprop engines, 4,500
kW (6,100 shp) each (equivalent)

Performance
Maximum speed: 648 km/h (403 mph; 350 kn)
Cruise speed: 315 km/h (196 mph; 170 kn) patrol speed
Stall speed: 167 km/h (104 mph; 90 kn) flaps down
Endurance: 18 hours
Service ceiling: 9,145 m (30,003 ft)
Rate of climb: 14.7 m/s (2,890 ft/min)

Armament

Up to 3,500 kg (7,700 lb), including torpedoes, depth charges, mines, anti-ship
missiles, bombs and/or buoys




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