Affordable performers: Medium turboprops honed for littoral surveillance

摘要

Not so long ago, when the Cold War drove defence doctrine and military force structures in east and west, the long range maritime patrol aircraft (LRMPA) was enshrined as a key asset in the Warsaw Pact and NATO orders of battle. As well as being a prized anti-submarine warfare (ASW) platform, the LRMPA also had a major anti-surface warfare (ASuW) role, acting as a targeting/relay or missile launch platform.