The certification of the new universal nose represents a major milestone for airborne surveillance and the success of screening forces. From now on it is possible to purchase an off-the-shelf airborne surveillance platform that comprises a state-of-the-art gimbal camera in combination with up- and downlink systems for local as well as worldwide transmission. Integrated customized options include an operator desk with geo-referencing. Tactical communication and data interfaces provide the aircraft package a perfect tool for any kind of observation mission. Border control, harbour and coastal surveillance, monitoring of critical infrastructure, fire fighting and flood prevention, riot screening are just constantly growing examples out of the various field of applications for this new universal configuration.
This development is also reflected by the enormous increase of firm sales contracts for the DA42 MPP worldwide. First deliveries to fleet customers already started in July 2008. The already existing order backlog proves that Diamond Airborne Sensing managed to meet the sophisticated market demands. The high integration level, low operational costs and the flexibility of the platform itself turned out to be the most crucial arguments for the clients.
The EASA TCDS- A513 Issue 03 was published 26th May, 2008: please be so kind and find more information about the universal nose configuration here.