Bréguet 1150 Atlantic
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The Breguet Br.1150 Atlantic is a long-range
maritime patrol aircraft A maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), also known as a patrol aircraft, maritime reconnaissance aircraft, maritime surveillance aircraft, or by the older American term patrol bomber, is a fixed-wing aircraft designed to operate for long durations over ...
designed and manufactured by French aircraft manufacturer
Breguet Aviation The ''Société anonyme des ateliers d'aviation Louis Breguet'' (), also known as Breguet Aviation (), was a French aircraft manufacturer. The company was set up in 1911 by the aviation pioneer Louis Charles Breguet. Breguet Aviation was extreme ...
. Designed in response to a 1958
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
specification as a replacement for the
Lockheed P2V Neptune The Lockheed P-2 Neptune (designated P2V by the United States Navy prior to September 1962) is a maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft. It was developed for the US Navy by Lockheed to replace the Lockheed PV-1 Ventura and P ...
, Breguet's submission was declared the winner over several competing bids. To produce the Atlantic, a multinational consortium, ''Société d'Étude et de Construction de Breguet Atlantic'' (SECBAT), was established. During 1963, an initial order for 60 Atlantics 40 for France and 20 for Germany was received. Follow-on orders from export customers followed shortly thereafter. It was first introduced to operational service during 1965. The Atlantic has been operated by a total of five countries, commonly performing maritime roles such as
reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...
and
anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations ar ...
. The Atlantic is also capable of carrying air-to-ground munitions to perform ground-attack missions; a small number of aircraft were also equipped to perform
ELINT Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is the act and field of intelligence-gathering by interception of ''signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly u ...
operations. An updated version, the Atlantique 2 or ATL2, was produced by
Dassault Aviation Dassault Aviation SA () is a French Aerospace manufacturer, manufacturer of military aircraft and business jets. It was founded in 1929 by Marcel Dassault, Marcel Bloch as Société des Avions Marcel Bloch (Marcel Bloch Aircraft Company). After ...
for the
French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...
in the 1980s. A further improved model, the Atlantique 3, was proposed during the 1990s but ultimately unbuilt. Other operators of the Atlantic have included the
German Navy The German Navy (, ) is part of the unified (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Marine'' (German Navy) became the official ...
, the
Italian Air Force The Italian Air Force (; AM, ) is the air force of the Italy, Italian Republic. The Italian Air Force was founded as an independent service arm on 28 March 1923 by Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, King Victor Emmanuel III as the ("Royal Air Force ...
, the
Pakistan Navy The Pakistan Navy (PN) (; ''romanized'': Pākistān Bahrí'a; ) is the naval warfare branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The Chief of the Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy and is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Com ...
, and the
Royal Netherlands Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy (, ) is the Navy, maritime service branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. It traces its history to 8 January 1488, making it the List of navies, third-oldest navy in the world. During the 17th and early 18th centurie ...
.


Development

In 1958,
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
produced a specification for a long-range maritime patrol aircraft to replace the
Lockheed P2V Neptune The Lockheed P-2 Neptune (designated P2V by the United States Navy prior to September 1962) is a maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft. It was developed for the US Navy by Lockheed to replace the Lockheed PV-1 Ventura and P ...
, with Breguet's design, the Br 1150, chosen as the winner of the competition at the end of the year. A multinational consortium, ''Société d'Étude et de Construction de Breguet Atlantic'' (SECBAT) was set up to develop and build the Atlantic.''Air International'' November 1981, pp. 218, 252. The first prototype made its maiden flight at
Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...
on 21 October 1961, with the second prototype flying on 25 February 1962, followed by two preproduction aircraft with a longer fuselage in February 1963 and September 1964.''Air International'' November 1981, p. 252. An initial order for 60 Atlantics 40 for France and 20 for Germany was placed in 1963, with deliveries starting in 1965 and continuing to 1968. The production line had shut down by the time the Netherlands placed an order for nine Atlantics and Italy ordered eighteen. Aircraft from this second production batch were delivered from 1972 to 1974.''Air International'' November 1981, pp. 252–253. In 1978, the French Government authorised development of a new, updated version of the Atlantic, the ''Atlantic Nouvelle Génération'' (later known as the Atlantique 2 when orders from other nations did not occur). While the airframe and engines of the new aircraft changed little, equipment and avionics were considerably revised; these included new radar, a new sonar processor, a replacement tactical computer, and a
forward-looking infrared Forward-looking infrared (FLIR) cameras, typically used on military and civilian aircraft, use a thermographic camera that senses infrared radiation. The sensors installed in forward-looking infrared cameras, as well as those of other therma ...
camera turret installed under the nose. The ability to carry Exocet missiles was also added.''Air International'' November 1981, pp. 216–218. Two prototype Atlantique 2s were produced by converting existing Atlantics; the first of these made its maiden flight on 8 May 1981. Production of the Atlantique 2 was authorised on 24 May 1984. Deliveries started in 1989 with 28 eventually built, from an original requirement for 42.Lambert 1993, pp. 81–82. By 2012, the Atlantique 2 had been rebranded as the ATL2, at which point France had a total of 22 in service. In 2012, 18 French Atlantiques were undergoing a series of upgrades to increase the type's effectiveness in two stages, Phase I addressing obsolescence issues and Phase II adding new capabilities. Also in 2012, a separate project was conducted to integrate the
MU90 Impact The MU90 Impact is a Franco-Italian advanced lightweight anti-submarine torpedo of the third generation developed for the French Navy, French and Marina Militare, Italian navies, as well as for export. It is designed to outperform the United States ...
torpedo. Aircraft that received these upgrades shall have an extended service life as well, enabling Atlantique operations to be extended to around 2032."France Upgrading its Atlantique Maritime Patrol Planes."
''Defense Industry Daily'', 6 October 2013.
A further upgraded ''Atlantique 3'' was proposed for the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
's Replacement Maritime Patrol Aircraft (RMPA) competition, however it was withdrawn in 1996 following alleged hints from
Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...
officials that the submission was unlikely to be successful; the competition later selected the
BAE Systems Nimrod MRA4 The BAE Systems Nimrod MRA4 was a planned maritime patrol and attack aircraft intended to replace the Hawker Siddeley Nimrod MR2. The rebuilt aircraft would have extended the operating life of the Nimrod fleet by several decades and signific ...
instead. The Atlantique 3 would have featured various off-the-shelf avionics upgrades, including the adoption of a two-man
glass cockpit A glass cockpit is an aircraft cockpit that features an array of electronic (digital) flight instrument display device, displays, typically large liquid-crystal display, LCD screens, rather than traditional Analog device, analog dials and gauges ...
. The use of uprated Allison AE2100H turboprop engines to drive new Dowty-built six-bladed composite propellers reportedly would have increased power by nearly 10% and reduced fuel consumption by 15%. In late 1996, Dassault (which had merged with Breguet in the 1970s, thus acquiring the Atlantic design) intended to offer the Atlantique 3 to Germany, Italy, and France. By 2005, Dassault had abandoned marketing efforts on the Atlantique 3, choosing to promote a variant of the
Dassault Falcon 900 The Dassault Falcon 900, commonly abbreviated as the F900, is a French-built corporate trijet aircraft made by Dassault Aviation. Development The Falcon 900 is a development of the Dassault Falcon 50, Falcon 50, itself a development of the e ...
corporate jet as a maritime patrol aircraft instead."Dassault offers Falcon 900 for maritime patrol."
''Flight International'', 28 June 2005.


Design

The Breguet Br.1150 Atlantic is a twin-engined, mid-winged
monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...
with a "double-bubble" fuselage; the upper lobe comprising a pressurised crew compartment, and the lower lobe housing a 9 m (27 ft 6 in) long weapons bay, with
sonobuoy A sonobuoy (a portmanteau of sonar and buoy) is a small expendable sonar buoy dropped from aircraft or ships for anti-submarine warfare or underwater acoustic research. Sonobuoys are typically around in diameter and long. When floating on t ...
tubes aft of the weapons bay. A
radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...
scanner is housed in a retractable underfuselage
radome A radome (a portmanteau of "radar" and "dome") is a structural, weatherproof enclosure that protects a radar antenna (radio), antenna. The radome is constructed of material transparent to radio waves. Radomes protect the antenna from weathe ...
, while a magnetic anomaly detector is housed in a tail boom. It is powered by a pair of
Rolls-Royce Tyne The Rolls-Royce RB.109 Tyne is a twin-shaft turboprop engine developed in the mid to late 1950s by Rolls-Royce Limited to a requirement for the Vickers Vanguard airliner. It was first test flown during 1956 in the nose of a modified Avro Linco ...
turboprop A turboprop is a Gas turbine, gas turbine engine that drives an aircraft Propeller (aeronautics), propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction drive, reduction gearbox, gas compressor, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propellin ...
engines.''Air International'' November 1981, pp. 213–216. An all-aluminium structure is used throughout the Atlantic's airframe; corrosion is alleged to be a considerable problem due to environmental factors imposed by the maritime environment. The Atlantic was designed for its purpose, instead of refitting or modifying existing designs. Though the primary mission of the Atlantic is anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare, its secondary roles include search and rescue, mine laying and detection and long-range maritime surveillance. The Atlantic can carry either eight guided ASW
torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...
es such as Mk 46 Torpedo, or 12 depth charges, or two
AM.39 Exocet The Exocet () is a French-built anti-ship missile whose various versions can be launched from Warship, surface vessels, Submarine, submarines, Helicopter, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. Etymology The missile's name was given by M. Guil ...
anti-ship missiles in its internal
bomb bay The bomb bay or weapons bay on some military aircraft is a compartment to carry bombs, usually in the aircraft's fuselage, with "bomb bay doors" which open at the bottom. The bomb bay doors are opened and the bombs are dropped when over the ...
. German Atlantics usually carried Mk 46s only and flew unarmed during the last years of their service. Italian Atlantics have been periodically armed with
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
-provided nuclear bombs. In French service, 18 modernised Atlantique ATL2 are being equipped with various new avionics and onboard sensors. Such systems include the Searchmaster derived from RBE2-AA
active electronically scanned array An active electronically scanned array (AESA) is a type of phased array antenna, which is a computer-controlled antenna array in which the beam of radio waves can be electronically steered to point in different directions without moving the a ...
radar developed for
Dassault Rafale The Dassault Rafale (, literally meaning "gust of wind", or "burst of fire" in a more military sense) is a French Twinjet, twin-engine, Canard (aeronautics), canard delta wing, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft designed and ...
, new digital acoustic processing systems, a
Thales Thales of Miletus ( ; ; ) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek Pre-Socratic philosophy, pre-Socratic Philosophy, philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. Thales was one of the Seven Sages of Greece, Seven Sages, founding figure ...
-manufactured
identification friend or foe Identification, friend or foe (IFF) is a combat identification system designed for command and control. It uses a transponder that listens for an ''interrogation'' signal and then sends a ''response'' that identifies the broadcaster. IFF syst ...
system, and DCNS-developed LOTI (''Logiciel Opérationnel de Traitement de l'Information'') combat mission software.


Operational history

In 1987, a single
Signals Intelligence Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is the act and field of intelligence-gathering by interception of ''signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly u ...
(SIGINT) Atlanique was operated by France as an airborne headquarters during Opération Épervier, the French intervention against
Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...
n military units which had been deployed into neighbouring
Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...
. Communications intercepted by the Atlantique were immediately decoded and translated before being used to conduct strikes upon Libyan forces with greater accuracy. The German ''
Marineflieger The ''Marinefliegerkommando'' (Naval Aviation Command) is the Naval aviation, naval air arm of the German Navy. It is aircraft flown by the Navy of Germany, and mostly consists of helicopters and fixed-wing maritime patrol aircraft, as well as ty ...
'' operated a fleet of Atlantics between 1963 and 2005. A number of these aircraft were modified for SIGINT work and were based at
Nordholz Naval Airbase Nordholz Naval Airbase () is a German Naval Air base located near the town of Nordholz in Lower Saxony, 25 km north of Bremerhaven, and 12 km southwest of Cuxhaven. It is the home of Naval Air Command ( Marinefliegerkommando), with ...
. During the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
, they commonly flew across the
Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...
and along the border with
East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...
; these flights often had American and British intelligence personnel on board in addition to their German crews. During the 1990s, Germany deployed SIGINT Atlantics to observe the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
embargo of
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
and for reconnaissance flights during the
Kosovo War The Kosovo War (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Косовски рат, Kosovski rat) was an armed conflict in Kosovo that lasted from 28 February 1998 until 11 June 1999. It ...
in 1999. In 1992, Germany was considering replacing its Atlantics in the maritime patrol role, the modernised Atlantic-2 was considered to be a frontrunner to be the replacement. In 1996, the planned procurement of a replacement was delayed in favour of a life extension program to enable the Atlantic fleet to continue in service for a further decade. Germany ultimately elected to replace its Atlantics with a number of secondhand
Lockheed P-3 Orion The Lockheed P-3 Orion is a four-engined, turboprop Anti-submarine warfare, anti-submarine and maritime patrol aircraft, maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the United States Navy and introduced in the 1960s. It is based on the Lockheed ...
s procured from the Netherlands. Several German Atlantics have been donated to museums, including the ''
Militärhistorisches Museum Flugplatz Berlin-Gatow The Militärhistorisches Museum der Bundeswehr – Flugplatz Berlin-Gatow (''Bundeswehr Museum of Military History – Berlin-Gatow Airfield''; formally known as ''Luftwaffenmuseum der Bundeswehr'') is the Berlin branch of the Bundeswehr Military ...
'' and the Dutch Air Force Museum, Soesterberg, Netherlands. During the 1960s and 1970s, the Atlantic competed with the Lockheed P-3 Orion to be selected as the Royal Netherlands Navy's next anti-submarine aircraft. The selection process, during which
Lockheed Corporation The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace manufacturer. Lockheed was founded in 1926 and merged in 1995 with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin. Its founder, Allan Lockheed, had earlier founded the similarly named but otherwise-u ...
was alleged to have engaged in multiple incidents of
bribe Bribery is the corrupt solicitation, payment, or acceptance of a private favor (a bribe) in exchange for official action. The purpose of a bribe is to influence the actions of the recipient, a person in charge of an official duty, to act contrar ...
ry, ultimately chose the Atlantic. Fewer Atlantics were procured than originally planned however; and a total of three Atlantics out of the Netherlands' nine-strong fleet were lost through a series of failures during missions over the Atlantic Ocean. These losses resulted in the grounding of the type in 1981 and contributed to its eventual replacement by the P-3 Orion. During
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
's intervention in the 1999
Kosovo War The Kosovo War (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Косовски рат, Kosovski rat) was an armed conflict in Kosovo that lasted from 28 February 1998 until 11 June 1999. It ...
, French Atlantics performed overflying surveillance flights of the combat area; flights within
Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
n airspace were conducted by unarmed aircraft. In 1973, in the aftermath of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, the
Pakistan Navy The Pakistan Navy (PN) (; ''romanized'': Pākistān Bahrí'a; ) is the naval warfare branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The Chief of the Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy and is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Com ...
opted to procure three Atlantics from France. In 1999, a Pakistan Navy Atlantic inadvertently flew into Indian airspace while probing Indian air defenses and was intercepted and shot down by
Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...
MiG-21FL after the Atlantic ignored instructions and attempts to force it to land at an Indian base; the event become known as the
Atlantique incident The Atlantique incident occurred on 10 August 1999, when a Breguet Atlantic maritime patrol aircraft of the Pakistan Naval Air Arm was shot down by a MiG-21 fighter of the Indian Air Force over the Rann of Kutch, on the border between India an ...
. After 36 years of service, Pakistan's remaining Atlantics were formally retired in September 2012, following the arrival of P-3 Orions to replace them."Pakistan Navy Inducts Another P-3C Orion and Phases Out Br.1150 Atlantic."
''PTV News'', 5 September 2012.
In 2009, French Atlantics were dispatched to
Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...
, Senegal, to participate in a multinational search effort to locate the crashed
Air France Flight 447 Air France Flight 447 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Rio de Janeiro/Galeão International Airport, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, France. On 1 June 2009, inconsistent airspeed indications and mi ...
. In January 2013, French Navy Atlantique-2s were deployed to act as ground-strike aircraft during
Operation Serval Operation Serval () was a French military operation in Mali. The aim of the operation was to oust Islamic militants from the north of Mali, who had begun a push into the center of Mali. Operation Serval followed the United Nations Security ...
over Northern
Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...
; a number of laser-guided
GBU-12 The GBU-12 Paveway II is an American aerial laser-guided bomb, based on the Mk 82 general-purpose bomb, but with the addition of a nose-mounted laser seeker and fins for guidance. A member of the Paveway series of weapons, Paveway II entered in ...
bombs were dropped by the Atlantiques against Malian jihadist militants seeking to overthrow the Malian government. During the deployment, the Atlantiques also served as
Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance ISTAR stands for Military intelligence, intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance. In its macroscopic sense, #ISTAR, ISTAR is a practice that links several battlefield functions together to assist a combat force in employ ...
(ISR) platforms, being able to provide a sustained presence unlike alternatives such as the
EADS Harfang The EADS Harfang, formerly known as ''Système intérimaire de drone MALE'' (SIDM, "Interim medium-altitude, long-endurance drone system") is an unmanned aerial vehicle used by the French Air Force, supplementing the RQ-5 Hunter. Development ...
unmanned aerial vehicle An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or unmanned aircraft system (UAS), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft with no human pilot, crew, or passengers onboard, but rather is controlled remotely or is autonomous.De Gruyter Handbook of Dron ...
(UAV). In 2015, Atlantique-2s was deployed to Iraq at the beginning of Opération Chammal against
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signi ...
(ISIL) forces, initially performing
ISTAR ISTAR stands for Military intelligence, intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance. In its macroscopic sense, #ISTAR, ISTAR is a practice that links several battlefield functions together to assist a combat force in employ ...
and forward air control missions. On 19 August 2015, an Atlantique-2 flew a mission with two
Mirage 2000 The Dassault Mirage 2000 is a French multirole, single-engine, delta wing, fourth-generation jet fighter manufactured by Dassault Aviation. It was designed in the late 1970s as a lightweight fighter to replace the Mirage III for the French ...
s and dropped a GBU-12 on a command and control building, its first strike mission of the operation. As French military operations expanded into Syria in September 2015, the long range of the Atlantiques from their base in the UAE was utilised when undertaking reconnaissance operations instead of shorter range aircraft such as the
Dassault Rafale The Dassault Rafale (, literally meaning "gust of wind", or "burst of fire" in a more military sense) is a French Twinjet, twin-engine, Canard (aeronautics), canard delta wing, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft designed and ...
. On 15 January 2025, two Atlantique 2 aircraft landed in Indonesia as part of mission Clemenceau 25 before exercise La Perouse 2025 after logistical stop overs in Greece, UAE and India (10 Jan). The aircraft traversed 7800 nautical miles and 30 flight hours to complement the
Carrier Strike Group A carrier strike group (CSG) is a type of carrier battle group of the United States Navy. It is an operational formation composed of roughly 7,500 personnel, usually an aircraft carrier, at least one cruiser, a destroyer Squadron (naval), squad ...
centered on
Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...
.


Variants


Br.1150 Atlantic

:Long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft. The series' first operators became the French and German navies who contracted for 40 and 20 Atlantics respectively through an initial batch order from Breguet in 1963. These airframes were delivered to customers beginning in 1965 and ended in 1968. A follow-up order involved supply of the aircraft to the Netherlands and Italy shortly thereafter, these being delivered into 1974. Production was undertaken by a European consortium under the "Societe d'Etude et de Construction de Breguet Atlantic" (otherwise recognized as "SECBAT") name led by Breguet itself. Beyond these European powers, Pakistan received three ex-French Navy Atlantics in the 1970s. As an anti-ship, anti-submarine maritime warfare mount, the Atlantic series could be properly outfitted through torpedoes (up to 8 x Mk 46 / 7 x Murene series), depth charges, naval mines and conventional drop bombs as required - these held in the unpressurized internal bomb bay. Additionally the aircraft was cleared to drop specialized mission equipment for shipwreck.


Atlantique 2

:Updated variant, also known as the ''Atlantique Nouvelle Génération'' or ''ATL2''. It is the direct descendant of the Bréguet Atlantic. * Power for the Atlantique 2 was served through 2 x Rolls-Royce Tyne RTy.20 Mk 21 series turboprop engines (twin shaft) developing 6,100 horsepower each. * maximum speed of 400 miles per hour, * cruising speed of 200 miles per hour, * ferry range of 5,635 miles * mission endurance time of up to 18 hours * operations at altitudes from 100 feet up to 30,000 feet through use of a pressurized cabin and flight deck. * Rate-of-climb at 2,900 feet per minute. * 2x Exocet AM-39 missile were added to armament. * 6x
MU90 Impact The MU90 Impact is a Franco-Italian advanced lightweight anti-submarine torpedo of the third generation developed for the French Navy, French and Marina Militare, Italian navies, as well as for export. It is designed to outperform the United States ...
torpedo since July 2014. The ATL2 has been in service for 20 or so years, and has undergone several retrofits. A renovation operation is in progress (2019–25); 18 out of the 22 ATL2 Standard 5 operated by the French Navy are upgraded to the new version called 'Standard 6'. The upgrade is comprehensive and should allow the aircraft to operate until 2035. It includes the development of a new combat system called 'Logiciel de traitement de l'information operationelle nouvelle génération' (LOTI-NG). The system is used to establish a tactical picture based on data gathered by the aircraft's various sensors. New digital operator stations have replaced the original analogue equipment. Another major improvement is the upgrade of the acoustic treatment subsystem called 'Sous-système de traitement acoustique numérique' (STAN). This system is able to operate more sonobuoys than its predecessor and scan a broader range of frequencies. The system can also operate the most recent US sonobuoys including in the multistatic mode. The Wescam MX-20 electro-optical (EO) turret has also been integrated (the same one used on board the Boeing P-8A Poseidon). This system had already been mounted on some ATL2s. The ATL2 is frequently used in Africa where it serves as backup to ground forces. The last major element of the Standard 6 upgrade is: * New radar
Thales Thales of Miletus ( ; ; ) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek Pre-Socratic philosophy, pre-Socratic Philosophy, philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. Thales was one of the Seven Sages of Greece, Seven Sages, founding figure ...
Searchmaster Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar. According to Thales, this multirole surveillance radar offers the highest level of operational performance to detect stationary and moving maritime targets, including in high sea states, at ranges up to 200 nautical miles (air-to-sea). The radar also has the capability to support ground surveillance operations. The French Navy will also receive a new mission preparation tool and simulator. * New Thales acoustic subsystem to gather and process signals from the latest generation air-dropped sonobuoys for submarine detection. * New navigation console designed by Dassault Aviation * New consoles for the tactical display subsystem developed by the French army, "SIAé". * The Wescam MX-20 electro-optical (EO) turret integrated into the combat system. With the Standard 6 upgrade, various operators are able to simultaneously access the images provided by the MX-20. The French procurement agency Direction générale de l'armement (DGA) has authorised the transfer of the first two upgraded Dassault Atlantique 2 (ATL2) maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) to the French Navy, the French ministry for armed forces announced on 24 October. As of July 2022, half of the eighteen aircraft in the French Navy inventory had been upgraded to Standard 6. Upgrades of the remaining aircraft in the fleet are to continue until 2024. In November 2022, the upgraded aircraft was said to have reached the milestone of being able to perform the entire spectrum of missions assigned to it. The 10th upgraded aircraft was delivered in December 2022 and the 11th aircraft followed in April 2023. ;''Atlantique'' 3 :Proposed modernised variant in the 1990s, unbuilt.


Operators


Current operators

; *
French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...
**
French Naval Aviation French Naval Aviation (often abbreviated in French to: (contraction of ), or , or more simply ) is the naval air arm of the French Navy. The long-form official designation is . Born as a fusion of aircraft carrier squadrons and the naval pat ...
– The original model was retired in 1996. Second generation ''Atlantique'' 2 in service. To be replaced by Airbus A321MPA.


Former operators

; *
German Navy The German Navy (, ) is part of the unified (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Marine'' (German Navy) became the official ...
– Received 20 Atlantics, with five converted to
ELINT Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is the act and field of intelligence-gathering by interception of ''signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly u ...
aircraft.Donald and Lake 1996, p.121. Replaced all ASW aircraft by ex-Dutch
P-3 Orion The Lockheed P-3 Orion is a four-engined, turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the United States Navy and introduced in the 1960s. It is based on the L-188 Electra commercial airliner by Lockheed; it is e ...
in 2005, the ELINT versions were planned to be replaced by the now cancelled EuroHawk UAVs. *As Germany decided not to overhaul their P-3C, they will have to be retired by 2025. France proposed to lend four additional Atlantic 2 (Standard 6) as the Maritime Airborne Warfare System (MAWS) will not be operational before 2032. but Germany ordered five
P-8A Poseidon The Boeing P-8 Poseidon is an American maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft developed and produced by Boeing Defense, Space & Security. It was developed for the United States Navy as a derivative of the civilian Boeing 737 Next Generati ...
in 2021 ; *
Italian Air Force The Italian Air Force (; AM, ) is the air force of the Italy, Italian Republic. The Italian Air Force was founded as an independent service arm on 28 March 1923 by Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, King Victor Emmanuel III as the ("Royal Air Force ...
– 18 aircraft flown by pilots from the
Italian Air Force The Italian Air Force (; AM, ) is the air force of the Italy, Italian Republic. The Italian Air Force was founded as an independent service arm on 28 March 1923 by Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, King Victor Emmanuel III as the ("Royal Air Force ...
and Italian Navy Aviation, but commanded by the Navy. – Replaced by the ATR 72MP. ; *
Royal Netherlands Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy (, ) is the Navy, maritime service branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. It traces its history to 8 January 1488, making it the List of navies, third-oldest navy in the world. During the 17th and early 18th centurie ...
**
Dutch Naval Aviation Service The Netherlands Naval Aviation Service (, shortened to MLD) is the naval aviation branch of the Royal Netherlands Navy. History World War I Although the MLD was formed in 1914, with the building of a seaplane base at De Mok, Texel, it deve ...
– Replaced by the
P-3 Orion The Lockheed P-3 Orion is a four-engined, turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the United States Navy and introduced in the 1960s. It is based on the L-188 Electra commercial airliner by Lockheed; it is e ...
. ; *
Pakistan Navy The Pakistan Navy (PN) (; ''romanized'': Pākistān Bahrí'a; ) is the naval warfare branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The Chief of the Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy and is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Com ...
**
Pakistan Naval Air Arm The Pakistan Naval Air Arm (unofficially: Pakistan Naval Aviation) is the naval aviation and military administrative branch of the Pakistan Navy. The air arm is tasked with providing configuration of all naval aviation aircraft and is respo ...
– Last aircraft retired in 2012 and replaced by ATR 72MP.


Accidents and incidents

* 19 April 1962 – Second prototype aircraft crashed, killing all three onboard, during test flight after trying to divert due to an engine fire. * 31 August 1967 – A French surveillance Breguet 1150 crashed on the Norwegian island of Prins Karls Forland, killing all 11 crew. * 20 September 1968 – A French Air Force Atlantic crashed into the offices of the
Royal Aircraft Establishment The Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), bef ...
(RAE) while performing a display at the
Farnborough Air Show The Farnborough International Airshow is a trade exhibition for the aerospace and defence industries, where civilian and military aircraft are demonstrated to potential customers and investors in Farnborough, Hampshire. Since its first show in ...
,
Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...
, England. One of the RAE's civilian maintenance staff was killed, as were all five members of the crew. * 15 August 1973 - A Dutch marine surveillance Breguet serial 257 suffered a problem with the
elevator An elevator (American English) or lift (Commonwealth English) is a machine that vertically transports people or freight between levels. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive traction cables and counterweight systems suc ...
and ditched at 1500 hrs 1.5 km off the beach at Wassenaar, Netherlands. All 14 crew survived. The aircraft remained afloat and was salvaged, but later scrapped. * 14 September 1978 - A Dutch surveillance Breguet ditched successfully in the Irish Sea west of Scotland after the explosion of the right Rolls-Royce engine. There were no fatalities among the crew. * 15 January 1981 – A Dutch Marine Atlantic SP-13A was shadowing the Soviet Navy aircraft carrier ''
Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
'' in foul weather, with 30 ft waves and blizzard conditions. The Atlantic's crew transmitted a Mayday at 09:58 after suffering control problems due to a control rod failure in the horizontal stabilizer. It was not able to maintain height and was forced to
ditch A ditch is a small to moderate trench created to channel water. A ditch can be used for drainage, to drain water from low-lying areas, alongside roadways or fields, or to channel water from a more distant source for plant irrigation. Ditches ...
113 miles west of the
Inner Hebrides The Inner Hebrides ( ; ) is an archipelago off the west coast of mainland Scotland, to the south east of the Outer Hebrides. Together these two island chains form the Hebrides, which experience a mild oceanic climate. The Inner Hebrides compri ...
about half an hour later. Nine survivors were rescued by an RAF Sea King helicopter about two hours after the crash. Three crew members drowned. * March 10 1981 – Shortly after taking off from Prince Said Ibrahim International Airport in Moroni, Comoros, on a maritime patrol mission over the Mozambique Channel, a French Navy Breguet 1150 Atlantic number 29 from Lann-Bihoué (France) flotilla 23F crashes into the mountain 15 kilometers (9.4 miles) from the airport, killing all 18 people on board. One engine caught fire shortly after take off. * 18 May 1986 – While flying in cloud, a French Navy Atlantic crashed into a mountain in
Djibouti Djibouti, officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to the east. The country has an area ...
, killing all 19 people on board."20 Die in Djibouti Crash."
''Toledo Blade'', 19 May 1986.
* 10 August 1999 – At the Pakistani-Indian border, sixteen Pakistan Navy airmen were killed in what became known as the
Atlantique incident The Atlantique incident occurred on 10 August 1999, when a Breguet Atlantic maritime patrol aircraft of the Pakistan Naval Air Arm was shot down by a MiG-21 fighter of the Indian Air Force over the Rann of Kutch, on the border between India an ...
; the Atlantic they were in was shot down by Indian air force
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nicknames include: "''Balalaika''", because its planf ...
by
R-60 (missile) The Molniya (now Vympel) R-60 (NATO reporting name: AA-8 "Aphid") is a short-range lightweight infrared homing air-to-air missile designed for use by Soviet fighter aircraft. It has been widely exported, and remains in service with the CIS and m ...
after it allegedly intruded into Indian airspace, just a month after the
Kargil War The Kargil War, was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Ladakh, then part of the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir (state), Jammu and Kashmir and along the Line of Control (LoC). In In ...
.


Specifications (Atlantique 2)


See also


References


Citations


Bibliography

* Aid, Matthew M. and Cees Wiebes. ''Secrets of Signals Intelligence During the Cold War: From Cold War to Globalization''. Routledge, 2013. . * * * Donald, David and Jon Lake. (editors). ''Encyclopedia of World Military Aircraft''. London:Aerospace Publishing, Single Volume edition, 1996. . * Elvert, Jürgen. Sylvain Schirmann, Peter Lang. ''Changing Times: Germany in 20th-Century Europe'', Peter Lang, 2008. . * Goldrick, James. ''No Easy Answers: The Development of the Navies of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, 1945–1996''. Lancer Publishers, 1997. . * Harkavy, Robert E. ''Bases Abroad: The Global Foreign Military Presence'', Oxford University Press, 1989. . * Honig, Jan Willem. ''Defense Policy in the North Atlantic Alliance: The Case of the Netherlands'', Greenwood Publishing Group, 1993. . * Lambert, Mark. (editor). ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1993–94''. Coulsdon, UK:Jane's Data Division, 1993. . * Nicolais, Luigi. Michele Meo and Eva Milella. ''Composite Materials: A Vision for the Future''. Springer Science & Business Media, 2011. . * Noonan, John Thomas. ''Bribes''. University of California Press, 1987. . * "The New Generation Atlantics". ''
Air International ''AIR International'' is a British aviation magazine covering current defence aerospace and civil aviation topics. It has been in publication since 1971 and is currently published by Key Publishing Ltd. History and profile The magazine was fir ...
'', November 1981, Vol. 21 No. 5. pp. 213–218, 252–253. * * Taylor, John W. R. (editor). ''Jane's All the Worlds Aircraft 1988–89''. Coulsdon, Surrey, UK: Jane's Information Group, 1988. . *


Further reading

* *


External links


Présentation des Atlantique 2
Site de la Marine nationale




Beschreibung der BR 1150 bei der Deutschen Marine


* https://web.archive.org/web/20061113132458/http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/atlantique/index.html {{Authority control 1960s French patrol aircraft 1150 Twin-turboprop tractor aircraft Mid-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1961 Aircraft with retractable tricycle landing gear