Scott Nicholas
Saab has added new mission equipment and expanded the operational payload capacity of its multi-role aircraft offering so as to support a full range of real-world maritime missions.
The company said Tuesday recent developments on the Swordfish maritime patrol aircraft include capacities to carry six lightweight torpedoes, the RBS15 anti-ship missile and combinations of torpedo variants.
The Swordfish can also carry four search-and-rescue pods and offer additional multi-mission capacity across the maritime domain.
“We have invested heavily to produce an MPA at the peak of operational capability today and future-proofed for decades to come when new technologies, such as unmanned systems, come online,” said Gary Shand, sales director at Saab’s Airborne ISR business unit.
“Our dialogue with the market and the wider anti-submarine warfare community shows there is a clear requirement for a fast, long-range, multi-mission MPA that performs across a range of profiles,” said Emilien Saindon, head of sales and marketing at Airborne ISR.
The Swordfish platform shares an estimated 70 percent commonality with the Saab-built GlobalEye airborne early warning and control system including the electro-optics, electronic warfare, mission management system and self-protection systems.
Saab has committed to boost its presence in the Asia Pacific and collaborate with local industries in the region to provide, support and sustain the Swordfish MPA.
