General Atomics AeroTec Systems (GA-ATS) has won a tender from the Finnish Border Guard (FBG) to upgrade the navigation and communications systems of the Do228 fleet. The German manufacturer of the Do228 will carry out the modernisation work at Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany in the coming months and will also perform extensive planned maintenance work.
To enable the special mission aircraft to meet the modern challenges that border and maritime surveillance face on a daily basis, the Finnish Border Guard wants to improve efficiency and reliability of its Do228 fleet. The two Do228 will be upgraded with a new navigation system AHRS (Attitude Heading Reference System), which is reliable and capable in the far north regions. A modern, cost-effective new communication system SATCOM will also be installed.
During the same period that the modernisation is being carried out, the Finnish Border Guard’s Do228 fleet is also undergoing comprehensive planned maintenance work at the General Atomics AeroTec Systems site in Oberpfaffenhofen. The manufacturer of the Do228 will perform periodic maintenance on the aircraft, including the implementation of service bulletins and other upgrades designed to improve dispatch reliability and further minimize maintenance efforts.
The modern one-stop-shop concept of GA-ATS allows the maintenance work to be carried out simultaneously with the upgrade and modernisation work. This means that there will be only one downtime and the Do228s can be back in service in Finland within a few months.
The Do228 of the newest NATO member state were delivered in 1995 and have been upgraded throughout the years with modern equipment. Currently the aircraft are equipped with thermal cameras, day cameras, UV/IR scanners, weather radars, maritime surveillance radars, SLAR side-angle radars and Automatic Identification Systems (AIS).
