NITRATHE ISR pod | Turgis Gaillard

With the addition of a simple underwing pod, Turgis Gaillard can transform the Airbus A400M transport aircraft into a strategic reconnaissance, multi-domain intervention or oceanic search and rescue aircraft.

Introducing NITRATHE, one of the best examples of the Turgis Gaillard method for producing very high value-added effects by reusing existing, qualified, in-service and supported resources.

Description

NITRATHE is a pod mounted under the wing of a transport aircraft, in place of an in-flight refueling pod.
It contains a high-performance 25-inch class optronic sensor capable of monitoring a vast area, identifying objects over 20km away, day and night, determining their precise geographical coordinates and designating a target for laser-guided weaponry.
The pod is also equipped with a theater communications system for image transmission to operators on the ground. It is operated from a removable console carried in the aircraft’s cargo bay, which can accommodate an operator or a local C2 team.
It is mounted on the wing pylon provided by the aircraft designer, either on the port or starboard side. In-flight refueling capability is retained, as the pod designed for this purpose remains in place on the other pylon.
NITRATHE requires no external power. It is fixed under the aircraft wing without any modification, and linked to the operator’s console via a secure wireless connection. It can be fitted quickly and easily on any A400M.
NITRATHE requires no modification to the aircraft.

Multi-domain intervention

Integrating NITRATHE is surprisingly easy, and the capabilities offered are spectacular.

Equipped with NITRATHE, an A400M taking off from a base with a special forces team can:

reach any point on the globe in less than 24 hours,
brief the special forces team on the situation on the ground before they parachute,
provide ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) support throughout the operation, while remaining at standoff distance,
broadcast images to headquarters, even at long distance for aircraft equipped with satellite communications systems,
perform in-flight refueling of the helicopters tasked with exfiltrating the Special Forces group and the aircraft providing fire support for the operation.

NITRATHE is a modestly sized system, but with strategic reach, giving even more potential to an aircraft that is already a game changer. It makes the aircraft a real Swiss Army knife for Special Forces, providing a remarkable multi-domain power projection capability.

Strategic ISR missions

In the same way that the aircraft can carry out high value-added intervention missions, NITRATHE offers the possibility of carrying out very long-range ISR missions of strategic importance.

NITRATHE offers the same imagery intelligence (IMINT) capabilities as Light Surveillance and Reconnaissance Aircraft, but with three to four times the reach and endurance. For certain missions, this can prove decisive.

And as any A400M in a transport squadron can be fitted with a NITRATHE pod in half a day, this strategic capability can be deployed on an ad hoc basis, offering optimized platform utilization.

Previously, one aircraft would carry out one mission. This forced us to give up our strategic reconnaissance capabilities, which were too costly to support. With NITRATHE, we regain our strategic reconnaissance capability, without requiring a specialized aircraft and therefore without reserving an airframe for this occasional use.

Broad Area Maritime Search and Rescue

In the event of a shipwreck or emergency at sea, NITRATHE provides day and night search and identification capabilities for aircraft deployed on maritime rescue missions.

The aircraft’s endurance and payload capacity make it an ocean-going intervention aircraft, heir to the Lockheed 749 Constellation SAR of the French Air Force and equivalent to the HC-130 of the U.S. Coast Guard.