Airbus A320 family ASW / MRA / MPA versions

Massive airplane recall: 6000x A320 derivatives airframe to go through a mandatory boftware update before their next fight (in fact, a reverse update).

Airbus said a recent incident involving an A320-family aircraft had revealed that solar flares may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls.
Industry sources said the incident that triggered the unexpected repair action involved a JetBlue flight from Cancun, Mexico, to Newark, New Jersey, on October 30, in which several passengers were hurt following a sharp loss of altitude.
That flight made an emergency landing at Tampa, Florida, after a flight control problem and a sudden uncommanded drop in altitude, prompting a Federal Aviation Administration investigation.
JetBlue and the FAA had no comment.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency late on Friday issued an emergency directive mandating the fix, and the FAA was expected to follow suit.

'TWO HOUR REPAIR'
An Airbus spokesperson estimated the repairs would affect some 6,000 jets in total, mixed between several variants, confirming an earlier Reuters report.
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https://www.reuters.com/business/ae...all-after-flight-control-incident-2025-11-28/
 
And not related but with immediate effect also:
Airbus is restricting operations in extreme cold for some aircraft equipped with Pratt & Whitney engines[...]
The French planemaker said it has modified existing procedures for engine operations on the ground in freezing conditions.
Airbus has introduced restrictions on the departure of A320neo, A321neo and A321LR aircraft in conditions of freezing fog with visibility below 150 metres."
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https://www.reuters.com/business/ae...keoffs-with-pratt-whitney-engines-2025-11-28/
With the above recall, that´s a lot of flights that are susceptible to be cancelled for the holyday season.
 
@Titus K : feel free to double post in the Neo thread.

The issues today are fully discussed in much earlier comments about the pertinence of basing a military aircraft on that specific airframe for the problems at stake today. With all the airframe present in their catalogue, it´s really bad luck or poor risk assessment to have made such choice...
 
TomcatViP said:
The issues today are fully discussed in much earlier comments about the pertinence of basing a military aircraft on that specific airframe for the problems at stake today. With all the airframe present in their catalogue, it´s really bad luck or poor risk assessment to have made such choice...
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That's a lot of conjecture on a airplane that doesn't exist yet ... what makes you think it wouldn't feature additionnal protection against these kind of issues ?
Are A330 MRTT being recalled ? Surely some must have flown during the same solar events.

Also, the A321 MPA will be based of the XLR version, wich is not affected by the EAD
Notice the A321-253NY, the Leap powered A321XLR (basis of the french MPA) is not on the list...
https://ad.easa.europa.eu/ad/2025-0268-E
And the A321 MPA (French Navy) will not feaure PW GTF engines but CFM Leaps obviously ... so those issues are also a non-story

So none of the 2 issues reported above affect the future (post-2030) A321 MPA, wich will be based of the Leap powered A321 XLR.
 
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I am pretty glad today issues will not affect future deliveries...

Still, the information regarding a fleet wide problem of this nature are pertinent. They re not fixing the ashtrays.
 
I would think so too TomcatVIP, after the problems with the Airbus A-320 series I do wish that such issues do not happen to other aircraft .
 
The latest French LPM calls for 3 A321MPAs to be operational in the MN by 2035 ( + at least 15 ATL2 still in service )
The order is expected late-2026 or early-2027 following the 24 month study.
 
A little more on the A321MPA timeline from the French Navy chief at the senate :
Regarding the replacement of the maritime patrol aircraft, the plan is to launch the production phase of the program by the end of 2026.

The first aircraft is due to arrive in 2034, with initial operational capability in 2035 and full operational capability a little later.

The retirement from active service of the Atlantique 2s is scheduled for 2040. This creates a fairly rapid transition, so we cannot afford any mistakes. I would nevertheless point out that our Atlantique 2s were upgraded to the latest Standard 6 configuration in 2026. We therefore have 18 aircraft at Standard 6, which need to remain in service until 2040 at the latest. That is a great challenge.

The renewal of the Océan maintenance contract for the maritime patrol aircraft is due to take place at the end of 2026 or beginning of 2027. We are therefore asking industry to guarantee the required capability transition between 2035 and 2040.
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So according to the LPM, by end- 2035, there should be : "at least 18 MPA aircraft in service, including 3 A321MPAs"

This means that the remaining ~15 ATL2s would have to be replaced within the following 5 years.

It also seems to suggest that the MN is aiming for a 1:1 replacement in terms of numbers, although I doubt that will be the case … 15 would already be great.
 

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