Jubilee delivery of 10th Diamond to DEA Specialised Airborne Operations

On November 25, 2021 DEA took delivery of another DA62 MPP, the 10th addition to their ever-growing fleet of Diamonds. With this latest expansion of their special mission aircraft fleet, DEA reassures their standing 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 both aerodynamic as well as radar specific requirements.

With the competence of designing and certifying a new pod from scratch in parallel to the normal program schedule, Diamond’s Special Mission Aircraft Division demonstrated once more their market leading capability as a provider of turn-key special mission aircraft.

“Working with DEA, a long-term customer, is already a very lean and streamlined process, and after all the 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 their 10th aircraft from us, sends a strong message to the industry that our special mission platforms are the best in class,” says Mario Spiegel, Sales Manager, Special Mission Aircraft Division at Diamond Aircraft Austria.

“It is so impressive to see how fast both companies developed over more than ten 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 ten years. For us as aircraft manufacturer it also important to have partners like DEA where we work close together in regard to product development and straight feedback from the market – seems to be a perfect business symbiosis which developed under pressure of the customer’s requirements,” says Markus Fischer, Director, Special Mission Aircraft Division at Diamond Aircraft Austria.

“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 together 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. Our customers now benefit from an even broader range of sensor suites whilst continuing to realise the benefits of this modern, reliable and environmentally friendly aircraft,” says Dicky Patounas, Director Business Development, DEA.