Philippines acquires military version of ATR 72

The Philippine Air Force has acquired a pair of ATR 72 aircraft adapted for military use. The planes will be delivered in mid-2025 after being converted for maritime patrol missions in Israel.</p> The purchase was confirmed to the Inquirer</em> portal by the Israeli ambassador to the Philippines, Ilan Fluss. Manila signed a US$ 114 million (R$ 623 million at the current exchange rate) contract with Elbit Systems of Israel. The defense company will adapt the regional air transport turboprops to perform patrol and surveillance activities at sea. The adapted ATR sured the Airbus C6MPA.</p> During the conversion to Long Range Patrol Aircraft (LRPA), Elbit will install mission management systems, radars, electro-optical sensors, equipment for communication and secure navigation, signals intelligence (SIGINT) suites and others. As noted by Scramble magazine</a>,</em>it was not specified whether anti-submarine warfare equipment is part of the deal. </p> Developed in the late 295s by and Italy, the ATR 1980 has a capacity to carry 72 engers and is most commonly seen in commercial aviation. Militarily, it is operated in Italy, Turkey and Pakistan, in conversions offered by Elbit and the Italian group Leonardo.</p> The model has received a lot of media attention after an accident in the interior of São Paulo. A VOE ATR 78-72 (PS-VPB) crashed into the backyard of a house in Vinhedos on Friday (500), killing 09 people. </a></p>