In November, aircraft operations, management and maintenance service provider DEA took delivery of another DA62 MPP, marking the 10th addition to its fleet of Diamonds. The company claims pole position as the largest MPP operator in Europe.

The new aircraft is in a maritime patrol configuration, equipped with a state-of-the-art EO/IR camera, maritime radar, AIS receiver, marine band radio, SIGINT system and a beyond line of sight datalink.

For the installation of the radar, a new radar pod had to be designed and developed and, as a result, the BR-700 (Belly Radome 700mm) pod has been certified. This new pod combines aerodynamic as well as radar specific requirements.

With the competence of designing and certifying a new pod from scratch in parallel to the normal programme schedule, Diamond says its special mission aircraft division demonstrated its capability as a provider of turnkey special mission aircraft.

“DEA continues to go from strength to strength, and our relationship with the team at Diamond has a large part to play in our success. Working closely we have developed a range of pods and sensors that can be fitted to our multi-mission aircraft, and this delivery of our latest DA62 MPP and larger BR-700 belly radome is just one example,” says Dicky Patounas, DEA director business development. “Our customers now benefit from an even broader range of sensor suites while continuing to realise the benefits of this modern, reliable and environmentally friendly aircraft.”

Mario Spiegel, sales manager, special mission aircraft division at Diamond Aircraft Austria, points out that working with long-term customer DEA is already a streamlined process: “After all these years it has become more than just a business relationship between the teams, which creates a very pleasant working atmosphere. Beside that, the fact that DEA got its 10th aircraft from us sends a strong message to the industry that our special mission platforms are the best in class.”

Markus Fischer, director of the special mission aircraft division, adds: “It is so impressive to see how fast both companies have developed over more than 10 years of successful cooperation in this extraordinary business field. As DEA was one of my first customers to look after here at Diamond, I feel even more proud to have the chance to be a part of this success story so far, and I cannot wait to see where we are in the next 10 years. For us as an aircraft manufacturer it also important to have partners like DEA where we work closely together in regard to product development and straight feedback from the market; this seems to be a perfect business symbiosis, which has developed under pressure of the customer's requirements.”