Pakistan Navy’s first Embraer Lineage 1000 jet long-range maritime patrol (LRMP) and anti-submarine warfare aircraft (ASWA) performed training flights over Karachi recently, with plane spotters sharing the videos of the mission all over social media. The jet was officially inducted into the naval fleet in September this year.
Known as the “Sea Sultan,” the state-of-the-art twin-engine aircraft is a variant of a private jet originally manufactured by Embraer, the Brazilian multinational aerospace company, which is utilized in air operations worldwide.
Paramount Group, the South African aerospace company operating in global defense and security, has converted the private jet into Embraer Lineage 1000 LRMP and ASWA jet for Pakistan Navy. The Navy has contracted the Paramount Group for the acquisition of 3 Embraer Lineage 1000 jets, with the latter already delivering 1 of them.
Under the contract, Paramount Group is required to install torpedos, depth charges, anti-ship missiles on three private Embraer jets to convert them into the Embraer Lineage 1000 LRMP and ASWA jets. The South African firm has procured the equipment for the jets from Leonardo, the Italian company specializing in aerospace, defense, and security.
Pakistan Navy plans to add 10 commercial jets after conversion into Embraer Lineage 1000 jets to its fleet as it wants to replace its US-made P-3C Orion anti-submarine and maritime surveillance (ASMS) aircraft to consolidate its defensive capabilities.
More About the Jet
The transformed Embraer Lineage 1000 jet is 36.24m long, 28.72m wide (wingspan), and 10.57m high. It has an empty weight of 32,133 kg, a maximum takeoff weight of 54,500 kg, and a maximum landing weight of 45,800 kg.
It has a maximum speed of 1004.5 km/h, a cruise speed of 874 km/h, a maximum range of 8,500 km, and a service ceiling of 41,000 feet.
