The two CN235s aircraft ordered by the Mexican Navy departed Airbus Military’s facility of San Pablo (Seville) with destination to the Navy’s air base of Tapachula, on Friday 11th June.
These two CN235s, in their Maritime Patrol version (MPA), will join the fleet of seven C212 MPAs already in service with the Mexican Navy. With their greater range, higher resistance and a more modern technology which eases crew workload, they will allow the Navy to expand their maritime traffic surveillance, as well as their border and other control missions, to name a few applications.
Like the C212, the CN235 is fitted with the Fully Integrated Tactical (FITS) mission system. It will allow the Navy of Mexico to detect, track and classify small boats used for drug trafficking and smuggling. It also will be able to control the Exclusive Economic Zone or to carry out search and rescue missions.
The Mexican Navy was the first to operate the FITS from 2004. This system analyses the information provided by several different surveillance sensors and provides it to the crew in an intelligent way. It is displayed on two operator consoles and a cockpit tactical display on the CN235.
Source: EADS
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