TSAMTO, March 15. The Turkish Navy Aviation Command has adopted the second of six ordered maritime patrol / anti-submarine aircraft ATR-72-600T (MPA/ASW) under the MELTEM III program.
On March 13, the head of the Turkish Defense Industry Secretariat (SSM), Ismail Demir, announced the transfer of the next new aircraft to the Turkish Navy.
As previously reported by TSAMTO, the basic contract, which provides for the supply of 10 ATR-72-500 anti-submarine aircraft to the Turkish Navy, was signed by Alenia Aermacchi (now Leonardo) with SSM in 2005. The cost of the agreement was 180 million euros.
In May 2013, Alenia Aermacchi announced the signing of an amended contract with SSM, which provides for the delivery of two ATR-72-600 TMUA (Turkish maritime multi-purpose aircraft) and six ATR-72-600 TMPA (Turkish maritime patrol aircraft) or ATR-72-600T multi-purpose aircraft.
The main change is the adoption of the Navy's new ATR-72-600 aircraft instead of the ATR-72-500. Thanks to this agreement, the Turkish Navy will receive the latest version of the ATR-72, equipped with a glass cockpit and more powerful engines.
Alenia Aermacchi announced the delivery of the first multi-purpose aircraft ATR-72-600 TMUA (TCB-701) to the Turkish Navy on July 24, 2013. The second aircraft (TCB-702) was delivered to the Turkish Navy in the first half of August 2013. Compared to the basic ATR-72-600 platform, the two ATR-72 TMUA modified at Alenia Aermacchi plants are equipped with new radios, a "friend-foe" state recognition system, and a modified cockpit. Both aircraft can be easily reconfigured into a cargo version to perform various tasks, including delivering troops and cargo.
The next six ATR-72-600s are being converted to the ATR72-600 TMPA version of the maritime patrol aircraft by Turkish Aerospace Industries, Inc. (TAI) in Ankara. They are designed to perform various tasks, primarily maritime patrol. The aircraft, which bears the designation MELTEM 3 in Turkey, is equipped with the AMASCOS maritime surveillance system developed by Tales, the OCEAN MASTER search radar, the Link-16 data exchange system, an automatic identification system and the latest generation of weapons systems, including the Mk-54 and Mk-46 light torpedoes.
The first ATR72-600 (TCB-751) arrived at the production site of Turkish Aerospace Industries on April 19, 2013. Initially, it was expected to be transferred in the TMPA version to the Turkish Navy Aviation Command in February 2017, and deliveries of all six aircraft were planned to be completed in 2018, but the schedule was significantly delayed. As a result, the first aircraft of the TMPA version was handed over to the Turkish Navy only on December 11, 2020.
