Thales has completed delivery of initial standard maritime patrol aircraft under the Meltem II programme for Turkey, with four aircraft entering service between February and June 2012.

Pierre Eric Pommellet, Executive Chairman of Thales Systèmes Aéroportés, officially handed over the aircraft during a ceremony at the Tusas Aerospace Industry (TAI) facility in Ankara attended by representatives of the Turkish Undersecretariat for Defence Industries (SSM), the Turkish Naval Command, the Turkish Coast Guard Command, the local contractors involved in the programme – TAI, Aselsan, Havelsan and Milsoft – the French defence procurement agency (DGA) and the French Embassy in Ankara.

Thales is prime contractor for the Meltem II programme, which calls for delivery of six maritime patrol aircraft for the Turkish Navy and three maritime surveillance aircraft for the Turkish Coast Guard. The aircraft are based on modified CASA CN-235 platforms. The programme also includes the provision of 10 additional maritime patrol systems for integration on ATR 72 aircraft in service with the Turkish Navy. Seven of these have already been delivered to the SSM. The 19 mission systems are based on Thales’s AMASCOS solution (airborne maritime situation & control system).