Diamond Aircraft’s DA42 MPP Undergoes Two-Week Special Mission Training At Andøya Space Center

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Diamond Aircraft recently put its DA42 MPP special-mission aircraft through its paces at the Andøya Test Center as part of a 14-day maritime-surveillance demonstration. (Photo courtesy of Diamond Aircraft.)

Diamond Aircraft recently provided the Andøya Test Center with a DA42 MPP piston twin special-mission aircraft to take part in a 14-day maritime-surveillance demonstration. The test center is part of the Andøya Space Center, which is situated on an island in northern Norway near the Arctic Circle. The DA42 MPP performed numerous tasks in special-mission scenarios to demonstrate its ability to search, locate, and identify various threats. Mats Mikalsen Kristensen, Andøya Space Center operations manager, says the center now aims to order a DA42 MPP at a later stage.

A Great Advantage

Diamond offers several turnkey solutions that target special missions ranging from surveillance to geo surveying. Tests at the Andøya Test Center involved equipping the DA42 MPP with Trakka Systems’ multi-sensor TC-300 EO/IR camera system and a Viasat Enerlinks III HD Line-of-Sight Data Link. The latter provides a video data link used for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. Data acquired during testing was streamed in real time to headquarters, providing attending delegations “with the highest possible level of situational awareness.”

Kristensen says the surveillance platform fulfilled all the jobs it faced, including maritime surveillance, land surveillance, and power line inspection. He notes that the DA42 MPP’s long flight endurance helped it perform tasks that otherwise would require several aircraft. Fanni Pajer, Diamond Aircraft pilot, says the DA42 MPP provided about nine hours endurance via its loitering power setting, which was of “great advantage for this mission.“ The DA42 MPP has a typical airborne operations time of six to eight hours, with a maximum airborne operations time of 12 hours.

Special-Mission Models

In addition to DA42 MPP and DA62 MPP special-mission models, Diamond Aircraft also manufactures single- and twin-engine DA40, DA42, and DA62 models for training and private pilot applications. The company also has a DA50 model in the works.

You’ll find scores of new and used planes from Diamond Aircraft for sale every day on Controller.com, including DA62s, DA42s, and others.

Source: Diamond Aircraft