According to the French newspaper “La Tribune,” the French Ministry of Armed Forces has chosen Airbus Defence & Space’s proposal to renew, after 2030, the maritime (and anti-submarine warfare) patrol aircraft fleet, currently made up of 18 Atlantique 2s, over Dassault Aviation’s proposal. This decision marks a first for Airbus, winning a competition against Dassault in France. The selected model, the A321XLR, has a large payload capacity and can be equipped to perform various patrol missions, making it better suited to the needs of the French Navy, despite being more expensive than its competitor, the Falcon 10X.
The Ministry has already allocated 89 million euros, with eight million earmarked for 2025. In 2013, the General Directorate for Armament (DGA) began studies to explore solutions proposed by the two manufacturers. Dassault supported a European partnership with Rolls-Royce as the engine supplier for the Falcon 10X, while Airbus benefits from an established industrial ecosystem in France and Spain to produce the A321XLR.
It’s worth noting that other European countries are also renewing their maritime patrol/anti-submarine warfare capabilities: Germany has chosen the Boeing P-8 (as Norway and the United Kingdom had already done), while Italy’s selection process is still underway (could Airbus have another chance here?).
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Ma l’AM non aveva già in programma di completare i P-72A per questo ruolo?
No, i P-72A non hanno (e non possono avere) capacità antisom. Attualmente l’AM è orientata ad un asset che possa sostituire gli Atlantic ormai radiati da diversi anni.
Al momento la scelta sembra ristretta tra P-8A e P-1, con il primo in vantaggio.
Sullo sfondo c’è sempre la possibilità di un P-27J (che però speriamo non si concretizzi mai)