Country of origin:

United Kingdom

Description:

Surveillance aircraft

Power Plant:

Two 298 kw (400 shp) Rolls Royce (Allison) 250-17F-1 flat rated turboprops

Specifications:

History:

With more than 1,200 examples of the Islander series delivered since 1987, the type continued to be developed for both civil and military operators. The BN2T Defender series has been supplied to government and law enforcement agencies around the world to meet requirements for a light aircraft able to operate from short airstrips in all weather conditions, day and night. The Model 4000 was launched at the 1994 Farnborough International Air Show, the prototype (G-SURV) being on static display, having made its first flight two weeks before on 17 August. On this occasion it was shown with a Sea Skua anti-ship missile mounted on an underwing hardpoint.

Design improvements to the Defender series lead to the Defender 4000, which has a number of design improvements including an extension of the fuselage by 76.2 mm (30 in), a larger wing which was increased in span by 1.21 m (4 ft) for greater internal fuel capacity, and an enhanced visibility cockpit and cabin. It is able to carry sophisticated navigation and sensor equipment, including a thermal imaging camera and a search radar.  Powered by the Rolls Royce (Allison) 250 turboprop it has a new nose structure designed to take a 360 degree rotating antenna, also being modified to accommodate a three-axis FLIR ball and 120 degree sector scan surface search and weather radar. A variant is the MSSA, this being a model fitted with a Westinghouse APG-66R multi-mode radar in the nose in the Defender 4000 airframe and in this role operates as a multi-sensor surveillance aircraft.  This model is easily distinguished by its bulbous nose housing the radar.

The first model of the Defender was launched in 1984 and retained the Avco Lycoming piston engines. Known as the Maritime Defender, it was supplied to 22 countries, having a Bendix RDR-1400C search radar, Omega / GPS navigation, underwing stores stations for carrying flares and dinghy packs, and carried a magnetic anomaly detector.  The wing hard-points could carry two Sting Ray light torpedoes, four Sea Skua missiles, depth charges, electronic countermeasures and electronic surveillance monitoring pods.  Further development culminated in the ASW / ASV Maritime Defender which was based on the BN-2T Turbine Islander and was supplied to a number of operators.

The BN2T-4S 4000 Defender has typical flight and mission equipment, including a Bendix King EFIS and all-Band VHF secure communications, and is capable of patrolling up to 2,590 km² (1,000 square miles) of border per hour, or 7,770 km² (3,000 square miles) of sea.

In mid 2007 a BN2T-4S 4000 was imported to Australia and became VH-YVH (c/n 10-407 – ex 9M-TPS, G-BWPO) to Britten Norman of New England, NSW.  This aircraft was selected as it had the best cabin space for the package of operational equipment installed. It was used as a demonstration aircraft for potential customers. It later entered operational service. Equipment included UHF duplex communications, real-time data downlink, turret-mounted FLIR, 120 degrees mounted radar, 360 degrees scan radar, sideways looking airborne radar, a laser terrain mapping unit and a fixed camera to provide live and captured video, surveillance pictures, radar images etc.  Early testing involved demonstrations to companies of the aircraft’s ability to detect and monitor bushfires.  On 10 July 2008 this aircraft was removed from the Australian register and exported to the United Kingdom as G-BWPO.  The aircraft returned to Australia and was displayed at the Australian International Air Show at Avalon, VIC in March 2009 and March 2011, at this time carrying the fire surveillance number 220 on the fuselage.