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French Navy's future MPA replacement programme moves to next phase

By Kate Tringham |

A scale model of the Airbus A321MPA concept on display at the Euronaval 2024 defence exhibition, which was held from 4 to 7 November 2024 in Paris. (Airbus Defence and Space)

The French Navy's Patmar (Patrouille Maritime) programme to replace its Dassault Atlantique 2 maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) in the 2030s has taken another step forward with the launch of a de-risking study with Airbus Defence and Space to further assess the viability of its A321MPA proposal.

Speaking at the SAE 2025 Maritime Reconnaissance and Surveillance Technology conference on 28 January, Captain Johann Eidesheim, head of the Naval Air Office, Naval Staff – Plans/Program, French Navy, said the risk-reduction study was officially launched in January and would continue over 18 months to assess whether the Airbus solution can sustainably meet the French Navy's technical and financial objectives for the programme.

The study is expected to conclude around mid-2026, after which a final decision on whether to proceed to the procurement phase will be taken at the end of 2026, Capt Eidesheim said.

Airbus' A321MPA next-generation long-range MPA concept is based on the commercial A321XLR (extended long range) version of its A321neo family.

The company developed the concept under an 18-month feasibility study contract awarded by the French Direction Générale de l'Armement (DGA) procurement agency in January 2023 for the Patmar programme. The solution was selected by DGA at the end of 2024 to progress to the next phase over a rival proposal by Dassault Aviation, which was also awarded a study contract for an MPA version of its Falcon 10X ultra-long-range business jet.

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