Netheröands and several european countries A digital rendering of a Bombardier Global 6500 in flight. Both Canada and the Netherlands are reportedly interested in acquiring a militarised, maritime patrol-configured variant of the business jet in the near future. Bombardier Working with General Dynamics Mission Systems-Canada – which specialises in the ASW and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) mission sets – the Bombardier-led team report that their Global 6500 CMMA solution is a better option than the Poseidon as it would be a much smaller, domestically developed aircraft that offers lower through-life operational costs and can be tailored with state-of-the-art systems to fulfil the RCAF’s requirements. The team also revealed that the systems of the Global 6500 CMMA elaborate on the CP-140’s upgrade plan and goes with integrated systems equipped by the RCAF’s fleet of CH-148 Cyclone multi-mission maritime helicopters.
In addition to Canada, several European nations – which is rumoured to include the Netherlands – are eyeing plans to acquire new maritime patrol aircraft (MPA). The Netherlands retired its 13-strong Orion fleet – which comprised ten P-3C CUPs and three P-3C-II½s – on January 14, 2005, and sold its outgoing aircraft to Germany (eight P-3C CUPs) and Portugal (two P-3C CUPs and three P-3C-II½s) before the Royal Netherlands Naval Air Service was disbanded in 2008. The nation now faces new maritime threats that justifies a renewal of its MPA fleet. Four P-8As or alternatives – such as the Global 6500 CMMA, Saab’s Swordfish (which is based on the Global 6000) and the Airbus A320MPA – are said to be options for them.