Endowed with built-in flexibility and multirole capabilities, the Surveyor is fully civil-certified. Its main roles are maritime patrol for surface vessel search and identification, search and rescue (SAR), prevention of piracy, contraband and narcotics smuggling, environmental monitoring and disaster clean up (against oil or chemical spills), territorial water security. The aircraft can also be reconfigured in a few hours to carry personnel, paratroopers, and cargo or for medical evacuation or to drop emergency kits.
At the heart of the ATR 42MP is the Airborne Tactical Observation and Surveillance System (ATOS), further strengthened by sophisticated navigation and communications systems. The Surveyor is also equipped with a flight-operable door (or, alternatively, a rear belly hatch) to drop emergency kits, large observation windows and fuselage pylons to carry a night searchlight or other equipment.
The ATOS, designed and built by Leonardo’s Airborne & Space Systems Division, includes two operator stations and manages a sensor suite which comprises multi-mode radar, electro-optical IR turret, color and b/w cameras, Automatic Identification System (AIS), Direction Finder (DF) and video recording equipment. With its modular architecture, the ATOS allows the entire surveillance system to be easily tailored to specific customer requirements, for instance by integrating Electronic Support Measures (ESM) or other subsystems and sensors.
The ATR 42 is a twin-turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and manufactured in France and Italy by ATR (Aerei da Trasporto Regionale or Avions de transport régional), a joint venture formed by French aerospace company Aérospatiale (now Airbus) and Italian aviation conglomerate Aeritalia (now Leonardo S.p.A.). The number "42" in its name is derived from the aircraft's standard seating configuration in a passenger-carrying configuration, which typically varies between 40 and 52 passengers.
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