Breguet Aviation ATL-2 Atlantique

Summary

Description

In 1958, NATO defined a specification for a long-range maritime patrol aircraft intended to replace the Lockheed P2V Neptune; Breguet's submission, designated as the Br 1150, was selected as the winner at the end of that year. A multinational consortium named Société d'Étude et de Construction de Breguet Atlantic (SECBAT) was established to develop and produce the Atlantic. The first prototype conducted its maiden flight at Toulouse on 21 October 1961, while the second prototype first flew on 25 February 1962. These were followed by two preproduction aircraft featuring a longer fuselage, which flew in February 1963 and September 1964, respectively. An initial order for 60 Atlantics, split between 40 for France and 20 for Germany, was placed in 1963; deliveries occurred between 1965 and 1968. By the time that the Netherlands and Italy placed orders for nine and eighteen Atlantics respectively, the original production line had been shut down; this second production batch was delivered between 1972 and 1974.

The Breguet Br.1150 Atlantic is a twin-engined, mid-winged monoplane characterized by its "double-bubble" fuselage, which features a pressurized upper lobe for the crew compartment and a lower lobe housing a 9 m (27 ft 6 in) long weapons bay. Aft of the weapons bay are sonobuoy tubes. A radar scanner is located in a retractable underfuselage radome, complemented by a magnetic anomaly detector housed in a tail boom. The aircraft's structure is primarily all-aluminum, and it is powered by a pair of Rolls-Royce Tyne turboprop engines. Corrosion has been noted as a concern, attributed to the maritime environment in which the aircraft typically operates. While the Atlantic's primary role is anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare, it can also perform search and rescue, mine laying and detection, and long-range maritime surveillance.

The Breguet Br.1150 Atlantic features a 9 m (27 ft 6 in) long internal weapons bay capable of carrying up to 3,500 kg (7,700 lb) of various munitions. This includes up to eight guided ASW torpedoes such as the Mk 46, or up to twelve depth charges, naval mines, conventional bombs, or sonobuoys. The Atlantique 2 variant added the capability to carry two AM.39 Exocet anti-ship missiles. Since July 2014, the Atlantique 2 has also been cleared to carry six MU90 Impact torpedoes. German Atlantics typically carried only Mk 46 torpedoes and were often flown unarmed during their later years of service, while Italian Atlantics were, at times, armed with NATO-provided nuclear bombs.

In 1987, a French Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) Atlantic served as an airborne headquarters during Opération Épervier in Chad, intercepting and decoding Libyan military communications to enhance the accuracy of strikes against them. The German Navy operated Atlantics from 1963 to 2005, some modified for SIGINT, flying along the Baltic Sea and East German border during the Cold War with American and British intelligence personnel onboard. These aircraft were later deployed to observe the UN embargo of Yugoslavia and for reconnaissance during the Kosovo War in 1999. The Royal Netherlands Navy selected the Atlantic, but experienced significant losses with three Atlantics crashing, leading to the type's grounding in 1981 and eventual replacement by the P-3 Orion. During the 1999 Kosovo War, French Atlantics conducted unarmed surveillance flights over the combat area. The Pakistan Navy procured three Atlantics in the 1970s, one of which was shot down by the Indian Air Force in 1999 after entering Indian airspace, and the type was retired from Pakistani service in 2012. In 2009, French Atlantics participated in the search for the crashed Air France Flight 447, and in 2013, Atlantique-2s were deployed to Mali as ground-strike aircraft, dropping laser-guided bombs on Malian jihadist militants. From 2015, Atlantique-2s were utilized in Iraq and Syria for ISTAR, forward air control missions, and strike missions against ISIL forces, leveraging their long range from a base in the UAE for reconnaissance.

Main Variants:

• Br.1150 Atlantic: This was the initial long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft, equipped for anti-ship and anti-submarine warfare with torpedoes, depth charges, naval mines, and conventional bombs.

• Atlantique 2: An updated variant, also known as the Atlantique Nouvelle Génération or ATL2, featuring revised equipment and avionics, including new radar, sonar processor, tactical computer, and forward-looking infrared camera.

• Atlantique 3: A proposed modernised variant in the 1990s that was ultimately unbuilt, intended to feature off-the-shelf avionics upgrades and uprated turboprop engines.

Technical specifications

Current operating countries

Country		Units
	France	22

Numbers in parentheses, e.g. '(+5)', indicate units ordered but not yet delivered.

All operators

France

Armament

Missiles payload:

• Air-to-Surface AM39 Exocet
• Air-to-Surface AS.37 Martel
• Air-to-Air Short-Range R550 Magic

Photo of ATL-2 Atlantique