Atlantiques & Falcons

摘要

Germany, Italy and the Netherlands also bought the type for maritime patrol and antisubmarine duties. When the French Navy was looking into modernising its fleet in the 1970s, it was so satisfied with the performance of the aircraft and its Rolls-Royce Tyne turboprops that the decision was made to build a newer-generation aircraft based on the BR 1150's design. Although the Atlantique 2 (ATL2) looks like its predecessor on the outside, this is not the case with the equipment on the inside. The ATL2 was outfitted with new avionics, surveillance equipment and radar and a sophisticated combat system, allowing the aircraft to deliver armament such as the MU90 torpedo or the AM39 Exocet missile. Dassault-Breguet built two prototypes for the ATL2 programme, with the first flight taking place at Toulouse-Blagnac on May 8,1981. The fuselage of the new-built ATL2 was built by SECBAT, a European consortium including companies such as Aerospatiale, Dornier, Dassault-Breguet and SABCA-SONACA. The ATL2 gradually replaced the Atlantique 1s from 1991 onwards.