Initially known as the Breguet Br.1150 before the merger between Breguet and Dassault, the Atlantique 1 was the winner of a 1958 NATO competition which called for a long-range land-based maritime patrol aircraft with ASW capability and as such, was developed by an international consortium called SECBAT which involved France, West Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, with both the UK and the US collaborating for engines and equipment. Its spacious fuselage has room for pilots, observers and avionics operators and its equipment includes a MAD sensor in a long tail boom, an ESM receiver and a Thomson-CSF radar, it also happens to be the only modern maritime patrol aircraft developed from the outset as such, rather than being based on an existing design. A major upgrade program resulted in the Atlantique 2 (originally known as the ANG or Atlantique Nouvelle Génération) which had a totally new digital avionics package installed which included a new inertial navigation system and a Navstar satellite receiver. With these changes the Atlantique 2 performs considerably better than its predecessor and is likely to be France's main maritime patrol aircraft for a long time in lieu of a replacement. Other current users of these aircraft include Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Pakistan.
First flown on 21 October 1961, the Breguet Br.1150 was eventually renamed Atlantique after the merger with Dassault. Despite some major upgrading (especially by those in use by the German Marineflieger), no major variants were considered until the heavily modified Atlantique 2 was designed (and which promted the retroactive redesignation of the original). It features a similar fuselage as the original but with a more advanced avionics set which was described above. A proposed Atlantique 3 would include more powerful engines, systems and weapons but has yet to be produced.
Preceded by:
NoneSucceeded by:
NoneDesign | Atlantique 1 | Atlantique 2 |
Type | Maritime Patrol | Maritime Patrol |
Year | 1965 | 1982 |
Crew | 2 | 2 |
Dimensions | ||
Length | 104 ft 2 in | 104 ft 2 in |
Height | 37 ft 2½ in | 37 ft 2½ in |
Wing Span | 122 ft 9½ in | 122 ft 9½ in |
Wing Area | n/a | n/a |
Weight | ||
Empty | 52,911 lbs | 56,438 lbs |
Maximum | 95,901 lbs | 101,853 lbs |
Wing Loading | 74.1 lb/ft² | 78.7 lb/ft² |
Performance | ||
Speed | 403 mph | 403 mph |
Ceiling | 32,808 ft | 30,003 ft |
Range | 4,953 mi | 5,639 mi |
Powerplant | ||
Engine | 2 x Tyne Mk. 21 Rolls-Royce 6,100 hp | 2 x Tyne Mk. 21 Rolls-Royce 6,100 hp |
Thrust/Weight | 0.46 | 0.43 |
Armament | ||
Guns | - | - |
Payload | ? | 7,716 lbs |
Hardpoints | - | 4 |
AS Weapons | - | AM.39 AS.37 |
Production | ||
Built | 91 | 28 |
Total | 119 |