ILA 2014: The INDRA P2006T MRI – Spain’s Sea Searcher

The twin-engine Tecnam P2006T MRI (Multisensor Reconnaissance and Identification) aircraft, developed by Spanish company Indra, has introduced a new maritime patrol aircraft to the market. Its makers claim the aircraft’s low acquisition and operating costs, efficiency and reliability, which will enable customers to perform maritime surveillance more cost-effectively than by using helicopters and medium-sized aircraft.

The P2006T - An International Project

The international collaboration involved the P2006T’s manufacturer Tecnam Construzioni Aeronautiche of Italy, Airborne Technologies of Austria, FLIR Systems PolyTech, and CNS Systems of Sweden, Enterprise Control Systems UK, and SELEX Sensors and Airborne Systems.

The P2006T’s Capabilities

The P2006T MRI is designed for maritime patrol surveillance, which primary objective to find, track and identify every ship of interest sailing inside its patrol zone.

It is optimiaed to conduct missions between the shore and 241km (150mi) out to sea, covering an area of between 7,770km2 and 12,950km2.

The SELEX SEASPRAY radar uses both SAR (synthetic aperture radar) and ISAR (inverse synthetic aperture radar) images to identify objects and for example, make it possible to determine the approximate length of the ship, and establish the location of the bridge and the masts. SAR/ISAR makes it possible to obtain radar images from targets 185km away from the aircrafts position.

Optional Piloting

Alongside with the ongoing-operational tests, work is underway with the prototype P2006T MRI, to develop an optional pilot mode for the MRI, which will allow the aircraft to be flown either manually or as an remote piloted aircraft.