http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #365 AUGUST 2018 // 87significant menace. And it is the
specific threat of submarines in
which maritime patrol comes into
its own, as it can prosecute its
own attack profiles with relative
immunity from counterattack.
Since the Atlantic convoys
of the Second World War and
the heroic exploits of Royal Air
Force Coastal Command, the
submariner has always feared the
arrival of a maritime patrol aircraft
overhead. In this scenario, the
roles of hunter and hunted are
very clearly defined and one sided,
where the maritime patrol aircraft
holds almost all of the aces.
However, the maritime patrol
role can straddle a wide spectrumMaritime patrol
of tasks and threats, from
benign surveillance in support
of routine costal patrols or
fisheries protection, all the way
up to full-blown anti-submarine
warfare (ASW) and protection of
a maritime task group. The first
role can be performed by relatively
low-cost, modified commercial
platforms providing a rudimentary
suite of sensors, including even
the naked eye. On the other hand,
the ASW role requires bespoke-
built airframes with a full suite of
sensors, sonar, communications
suites and weapon systems to
prosecute extremely complex
seek-and-strike missions
against a very elusive target.Despite their advantages in
a maritime domain, fixed-wing
aircraft have their limitations, with
comparatively short endurance
and land-basing limiting the
degree of coverage that can
be provided to a task group
over a protracted period.
While some ASW tasks can be
provided by organic sub-hunting
helicopters, these in turn are limited
by their speed and range. Ideally,
a maritime task group is able to
call upon a layered defence in
which fixed-wing and rotary assets
work together to provide a mix of
long- and short-range protection.Return to prominence
In the last decade or so, the
pressures on defence budgets
and false perceptions of a reduced
high-end maritime threat among
defence planners have placed less
emphasis on the maritime patrol
role; it certainly had no relevance to
the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan,
which somewhat distorted UK
defence doctrine and spending. In
the UK, this resulted in the rather
short-sighted and misguided
decision to remove the fixed-wing
maritime patrol capability in toto.
Of those who saw them, few will
forget the unhappy scenes ofAbove: Poland’s M28 Bryza (An-28B1R) is typical of the ‘lower end’ of
fixed-wing maritime patrol aircraft. It utilises a standard Bryza transport
airframe and is fitted with radar to observe ships, a transmitting system, and
equipment for locating signals from rescue radios. Bartek BeraLeft: The P-8 Poseidon is the state-of-the-art type among Western fixed-
wing maritime patrol aircraft. This Royal Australian Air Force P-8A is carrying
Harpoon anti-ship missile training rounds underwing. SGT Pete Gammie/
Commonwealth of Australia Below: An RAF Nimrod MR2 on patrol over the North
Pole, with two Royal Navy submarines breaking through the ice. The Nimrod’s
jet performance provided the advantages of speed and height in transit, while
still being capable of operating for long on-task periods. Crown Copyright‘Ideally, a maritime task group is able
to call upon a layered defence in
which fixed-wing and rotary assets
work together to provide a mix of
long- and short-range protection’