Textron Aviation announced a special mission Citation Longitude aircraft designed for maritime patrol operations. With a 3,500 nautical mile maximum range and an eight-hour endurance, the Citation Longitude MPA aircraft is ideally suited for surveillance missions over land or water, search and rescue, border patrol, and fishery monitoring operations.
“The Cessna Citation Longitude jet provides an excellent value for Special Mission operations due to its acquisition cost and operation cost combined with excellent speed, range, and payload capability,” said Bob Gibbs, Vice President, Special Mission Sales for Textron aviation. “Textron Aviation has developed and had certified factory provisions for various mission equipment supporting maritime patrol and surveillance missions, maximizing value for operations worldwide.”
The Citation Longitude MPA is equipped with a transmissive belly radome for maritime radars, beyond line of sight (BLOS) fairing, electro-optical infra-red (EO/IR) sensor life and optional night vision goggle (NVG) compatible lighting, making it ideally suited for surveillance, search and rescue, and patrol missions.
The aircraft has a dedicated special mission electrical power bus and can accommodate multiple maritime radar units within its belly radome. The interior of the aircraft is equipped with two mission consoles, with seats for additional crew for long-endurance operations, as well as storage compartments for additional equipment.
Textron has a long history of supplying aircraft used for air ambulance, ISR, utility transport, aerial survey, flight inspection, training, and other special missions. The Citation Longitude MPA will be another in a series of aircraft to cost-effectively support surveillance missions worldwide.
