Paramount Group is converting additional Pakistani Embraer jets to maritime patrol aircraft (MPAs) under the Sea Sultan project.
Mid-2021, South Africa’s Paramount Group was contracted to convert three Embraer Lineage 1000 regional jetliners into long-range maritime patrol aircraft for the Pakistani Navy, as well as the pre-conversion maintenance, repair and overhaul of the aircraft.
Pakistan plans to replace the country’s P-3C Orion fleet with it’s Sea Sultan MPAs. A total number of 10 Sea Sultans is expected to be procured in a follow-on contracts.
Leonardo, Germany’s Rheinland Air Services and Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) competed for the contract after a closed tender launched in November 2020, with Rheinland offering its Sea Eagle maritime patrol aircraft conversion of ATR 72 propliners, while TAI offered a package based on that developed for the Turkish Navy’s ATR 72s.
A $190 million contract signed between Pakistani Ministry of Defence Production and Leonardo in June 2021 after three months of technical discussions saw the Italian defence company acquire two aircraft to join the single Lineage 1000 already in Pakistan.
However, it now appears that Paramount Group has now overtaken Leonardo as the prime contractor for the Sea Sultan project.