MR version of A320 family?

PMN1

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Given that the B737 has been successfully developed into the P-8 Poseidon for the USN, have there been any studies at looking into the possibility of a MR version of the A320 family?
 
Indeed, there have been MPA proposals for the A320 family, very similar to the P-8A. Germany's purchase of the 8 surplus Dutch P-3Cs pretty much put an end to any serious effort.....
 
TinWing said:
Indeed, there have been MPA proposals for the A320 family, very similar to the P-8A. Germany's purchase of the 8 surplus Dutch P-3Cs pretty much put an end to any serious effort.....

Especially since those P-3Cs had just been through a major upgrade and SLEP (Service Life Extension Program) effort.
 
Yeap EADS Spain got the rights to do develop the military variants of Airbus, the A330 Tanker and the MR version to replace the Atlantics of Italy & Germany. As Tin Wing said the Germans went with the Dutch Orions as a simpler measure leaving Italy to either soldier on with Atlantic or get used orions from the US until the P8 enters production.

To be honest i alway felt that BAE should have taken that role within Airbus for both the Nimrod replacement and Tanker replacement as the Brits have much greater experience of both roles. But BAE was too busy in the US to take the lead in this area. But Boeings involvement with the BAE Nimrod MRA4 certainly helped them with the P-8 proposal.
 
Thorvic said:
To be honest i alway felt that BAE should have taken that role within Airbus for both the Nimrod replacement and Tanker replacement as the Brits have much greater experience of both roles. But BAE was too busy in the US to take the lead in this area. But Boeings involvement with the BAE Nimrod MRA4 certainly helped them with the P-8 proposal.

The less said about Nimrod the better.....

:mad:
 
Oh what a pitty ! :(
 

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Thorvic said:
Yeap EADS Spain got the rights to do develop the military variants of Airbus, the A330 Tanker and the MR version to replace the Atlantics of Italy & Germany. As Tin Wing said the Germans went with the Dutch Orions as a simpler measure leaving Italy to either soldier on with Atlantic or get used orions from the US until the P8 enters production.

To be honest i alway felt that BAE should have taken that role within Airbus for both the Nimrod replacement and Tanker replacement as the Brits have much greater experience of both roles. But BAE was too busy in the US to take the lead in this area. But Boeings involvement with the BAE Nimrod MRA4 certainly helped them with the P-8 proposal.

Well there always is the India MPA requirement. The A319 MPA shown in the Flight International graphic represents an improbable longshot, but it is interesting that weapons bay is aft of the wing.
 

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Any specs to go with the drawings - payload etc?
 
PMN1 said:
Any specs to go with the drawings - payload etc?

Hmm....I don't remember anything concrete, but FlightGlobal has all of its articles archived. It is a pity that their search function isn't up to Google standards.
 
The Boeing P-8I and a version of the A319 by EADS Casa are finalists in the Indian MPA competition. Interestingly, the Inidan Navy's such-completed "flight evaluation" didn't involve either aircraft as they don't exist.

In the case of the P-8, India evaluated Boeing's ground labs, a leased airline 737-800 flown on representative mission profiles and a US Navy P-3C (the sensors are essentially the same).

In the case of the "A319 MPA", India had to evaluate a leased airline aircraft and a Spanish P-3 upgraded by EADS Casa with its FITS mission system.

Interesting, Lockheed nearly offered an A320 derivative for the US Navy's MMA competition. Apparently the longer landing gear allowed the weapons bay to be mounted under the fuselage, outside the pressure vessel, making for an easier conversion.

Lockheed eventually bid the remanufactured Orion 21, and was beaten by Boeing with the P-8 - a 737NG that needed substantial redesign to get the weapons bay inside the aft fuselage.
 
Here is a link to images of a powerpoint presentation on the A319 CJ based MPA offered to India:

http://trishulgroup.blogspot.com/2008/10/eads-built-mrasw-platforms-on-offer-to.html

A319MPA-2.jpg
 
Good stuff -- thanks Tin Wing.

A sideview comparison between the A319 and A320 MPAs ...
 

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Airbus Defence and Space said:
Airbus evaluates an A320neo multi-mission version
The variant - designated A320neo M³A (Modular Multi-Mission Aircraft) - would be designed to fulfill a range of C4ISR roles, including maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare.
Video:
https://youtu.be/faFxUoGt2WU
Source:
Code:
https://youtu.be/faFxUoGt2WU
 
Not MPA but still a military derivative of the 320: 6 AWACS for India
India's Defence Ministry, on Thursday, greenlit the development of six new Airborne Early Warning Control (AEW&C or AWACS) planes to be built by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The AWACS will, reportedly, be fitted on modified Airbus A320 jets operated by the national carrier, Air India.
 
It looks like this will be a development of the existing radar system on their Netra aircraft:

Netra.jpg

It's a continuation of an earlier program to acquire Airbus A330s. They looked at installing the system in a 'pancake' radome back then:

DRDO radome.jpg

but the radar shape hasn't been decided on yet:

Livefist learns that the A320 based AEW&C platform will sport a derivative of the dorsal antenna system fitted on the Netra jets, and not likely a radome solution as has been speculated since the news broke Wednesday. This, however, is still unclear. In the words of a scientist familiar with the program, it will involve “trying past experience with additional features”.
 
The Canadians have been using the CC-150 as something of a poor man's Maritime Reconnaissance platform for some time now, so when I first saw the latest reports, I mistakenly thought that they were now prioritising a replacement for it in this role. But you are right, it is still primarily a tanker replacement they are looking for.
 
Two page EADS ad for the A320 MPA from 2003 targeted at the joint German/Italian program for the replacement of the Breguet Atlantic
(Source)
 

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