Airforces

T

European maritime

patrol aircraft

Frontex to the fore

Malta

he Armed Forces of

Malta (AFM) operates

two Beechcraft B200

King Air maritime patrol aircraft

(MPA) delivered in 2011 and 2012

and a third B200GT King Air MPA

that was received in June 2017.

The AFM’s three aircraft were

procured for surveillance, border

control, fisheries protection and

search and rescue (SAR) duties.

A drop hatch allows for the

delivery of survival dinghies and

equipment around the Maltese

islands and anywhere in the Malta

SAR Region. The King Air MPV is

flown by two pilots, two mission

system operators and an observer.

The aircraft were bought as

part of a multi-million project

co-financed by the European

Union’s External Borders Fund.

This included the airframes,

training and a field support

package. The fund is paying 75%

towards the cost of the aircraft.

The B200s are equipped

with Pratt & Whitney PT6A-42

turboprops each rated at 800shp,

while the B200GT is fitted with

PT6A-52s, each rated at 850shp.

The range of both variants

depends on its operating altitude,

but a 700nm patrol range can be

achieved at low altitude, increasing

to 1,000nm at medium altitude.

Aerodata of Braunschweig,

Germany was responsible for

converting the King Airs to MPA

configuration and installed a

variety of surveillance equipment,

including a Telephonics RDR-

1700B radar with 360° coverage,

an L-3 Wescam MX-15i day/night

surveillance turret with infrared

camera and a search and rescue

direction finder, among other kit.

The AFM King Airs have

participated in missions run by

the European Border and Coast

Guard Agency (Frontex). In

2012 one B200 was deployed to

Málaga, Spain for Joint Operation

Indalo, a co-ordinated border-

control effort covering Spain’s

maritime approaches in the

Mediterranean Sea. In 2013 a

King Air was deployed to Brindisi

in southern Italy to take part in

Frontex’s Operation Aeneas, to

monitor illegal activities such

as irregular migration and the

trafficking of contraband. Since

2014 Frontex has run Operation

Triton, which has been supported

by the AFM Beechcraft MPAs.

When two Libyan Air Force

Mirage F1 pilots refused to bomb

anti-government protesters in 2011,

and defected to Malta, one of the

King Airs was used to fly them

back to their home country, where

they received a heroes’ welcome.

The King Air MPAs represent

a considerable advance for the

AFM. As well as the pressurised

cabin that enables operations up

to 35,000ft (10,668m), the glass

cockpit and extensive sensor

suite provide the air arm with a

much-needed modernisation.

Paul Spiteri-Lucas

ORBAT

Unit Aircraft Base

Air Wing King Air Luqa

Inventory

Aircraft Number

B200 MPA 2

B200GT MPA 1

Serial AS1227 (c/n BB-2018, ex D-IMPB) reveals the King

Air MPA’s belly-mounted RDR-1700B radar. The option

for this second aircraft was converted to a fi rm order in

September 2010 and the identically confi gured aircraft

was delivered on March 5, 2012. Paul Spiteri-Lucas

King Air AS1126 (c/n BB-2016, ex D-IMPA) was the fi rst B200 MPA for the

AFM. It was acquired by Aerodata for modifi cation in May 2010 and arrived in

Braunschweig in June that year. It was delivered to the AFM on February 25,

2011. Paul Spiteri-Lucas

54 // FEBRUARY 2018 #359 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com

European MPAs Part 3

Fleet

Survey