INDUSTRI Pesawat Terbang Nusantara (IPTN) and Ericsson are studying development of a maritime-surveillance version of the CN-235 turboprop for the Indonesian air force.
Ericsson has proposed fitting the Indonesian-built version of the CN-235 with a dorsal-mounted Erieye electronically scanned phased-array radar. The aircraft would be able to accommodate up to three command-and-control consoles in the cabin.
The CN-235 would be similarly configured to the proposed Fokker 50 Kingbird, but with two fewer operator stations. According to Ericsson, the addition of a phased-array radar, mission consoles and navigation and communication equipment, adds around 2,000kg to the aircraft's weight.
The air force has a wide area of responsibility, covering the 3,000 islands, which make up the Indonesian archipelago. Its airborne-surveillance requirements are under- stood to call for the detection of surface targets as small as 1m2 (10ft2).
The service had originally planned to purchase six maritime-patrol versions of the CN-235, but it has since handed over responsibility for the project to the Indonesian navy. The air force is planning instead to retain and equip three of the aircraft for airborne ocean-surveillance.
An Erieye-equipped CN-235 would also have applications as an airborne early-warning (AEW) aircraft. Indonesia has had a long-standing requirement for an AEW aircraft, but has been unable to find the necessary funding.
Ericsson claims that, compared to the estimated $500 million needed to buy four Northrop Grumman E-2Cs, a similar number of CN-235s fitted with the Erieye would cost less than half that amount.
Source: Flight International
