The Armed Forces of Malta’s brand new King Air B200 maritime patrol aircraft, suitably equipped to meet Malta's requirements for offshore patrol arrived this afternoon.

This AFM-operated aircraft will augment the current fixed wing fleet and perform an additional role in the protection of the southern external borders of the EU, through missions which include detection, identification and coordination operations. In a secondary function, the aircraft will perform search and rescue flights.

The KingAir B200 is manufactured by Hawker Beech Corporation, based in Wichita, USA.

The specialised mission system equipment, sourced from Europe and America, integrates a Telephonics RDR 1700B 360° belly mounted radar, a Wescam MX 15i Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) system, SAR direction finder plus a number of other sensors and communication equipment, including satellite communication and data transmission.

Earlier this year, the AFM signed a contract for the provision of another new King Air B200, complete with integrated systems, training and a service support package.