PAL Aerospace P-4

Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) Proposal

Canada | 2025

"The P-4 is being prepared by PAL Aerospace and Thales as a possible solution against the Royal Malaysian Air Force Maritime Patrol Aircraft requirement."

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 04/01/2022 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site; No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

The P-4 is a Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) project being undertaken by PAL Aerospace and Thales centered on the de Havilland Canada "Dash 8" twin-turboprop regional airliner (detailed elsewhere on this site). PAL's expertise lies in special-mission aircraft and systems while Thales has decades of experience in systems and subsystems covering products across military, civilian, and industry sectors. Within the PAL Airlines fleet reside no fewer than eighteen Dash 8 aircraft (as of April 2022).

In the P-4, the airframe retains the same form and function of the Dash 8, complete with leading edge turboprop engines driving multi-bladed propellers. The high-wing mounting provides excellent low-and-slow operations while the sloped nosecone gives pilots equally excellent vision out-of-the-cockpit. The tail unit retains the familiar T-style single-rudder / high-mounted plane arrangement. A retractable, wheeled tricycle is used for ground-running.

Key physical changes include a chin-mounted "blister" turret housing an Electro-Optical (EO) camera. Internally, a maritime radar is standard with multiple crew stations to digest the incoming data while, externally, a Magnetic Anomaly Detector (MAD) boom is noted. At the dorsal and ventral centerlines of the fuselage are an array of protruding antenna. At midships under the belly of the aircraft is a pronounced mound housing additional equipment.

An example of the aircraft was presented at Defense Services Asia 2022, presumably to garner Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) interest in such a product - the service looking to upgrade its MPA capabilities.

Content ©MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.

Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one aircraft design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the PAL P-4 MPA Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) Proposal.

(Q400): 2 x Pratt & Whitney Canada (PWC) PW150 turboprop engines developing 5,071 horsepower each driving six-bladed propeller units.
Propulsion

416 mph
670 kph | 362 kts
Max Speed

342 mph
550 kph | 297 kts
Cruise Speed

27,001 ft
8,230 m | 5 miles
Service Ceiling

1,274 miles
2,050 km | 1,107 nm
Operational Range

City-to-City Ranges
Operational range when compared to distances between major cities (in KM).

NYC

LON

PAR

BER

MOS

TOK

SYD

LAX

NYC

Structure
The nose-to-tail, wingtip-to-wingtip physical qualities of the PAL P-4 MPA Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) Proposal.

15
(MANNED)
Crew

107.6 ft
32.80 m
O/A Length

93.2 ft
(28.40 m)
O/A Width

27.6 ft
(8.40 m)
O/A Height

39,286 lb
(17,820 kg)
Empty Weight

60,627 lb
(27,500 kg)
MTOW

Design Balance
The three qualities reflected below are altitude, speed, and range. The more full the box, the more balanced the design.

RANGE

ALT

SPEED

Armament
Available supported armament and special-mission equipment featured in the design of the PAL Aerospace P-4 Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) Proposal .

None. Mission-specific equipment carried to fulfill Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) role.

Variants
Notable series variants as part of the PAL Aerospace P-4 family line.

P-4 - Base Series Designation; debuted 2022.

Operators
Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the PAL Aerospace P-4. Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national aircraft listing.

Total Production: 1 Units
Contractor(s): PAL Aerospace - Canada; Thales Group - France

[ Malaysia (possible) ]

Relative Max Speed

Hi: 500mph

Lo: 250mph

Aircraft Max Listed Speed (416mph).

Graph Average of 375 MPH.

Era Crossover

Showcasing Aircraft Era Crossover (if any)

Max Alt Visualization

Production Comparison

1

36183

44000

Entry compared against Ilyushin IL-2 (military) and Cessna 172 (civilian) total production.

MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

♦

Aviation Timeline

EarlyYrs

WWI

Interwar

WWII

ColdWar

Postwar

Modern

Future

♦

1 / 1

Image release by PAL Aerospace.

Mission Roles
Some designs are single-minded in their approach while others offer a more versatile solution to airborne requirements.

ANTI-SUBMARINE WARFARE

ANTI-SHIP

SEARCH & RESCUE

Recognition
Some designs stand the test of time while others are doomed to never advance beyond the drawing board; let history be their judge.

Military lapel ribbon representing modern aircraft

Going Further...
The PAL Aerospace P-4 Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) Proposal appears in the following collections:

HOME

AVIATION INDEX

AIRCRAFT BY COUNTRY

AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURERS

Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Cookies

2024 Military Pay Scale Military Ranks U.S. DoD Dictionary Conversion Calculators Military Alphabet Code Military Map Symbols US 5-Star Generals WW2 Weapons by Country

The "Military Factory" name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered ® U.S. trademarks protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. All written content, illustrations, and photography are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and not for reuse/reproduction in any form. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value only and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation. We do not sell any of the items showcased on this site. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com. No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

Part of a network of sites that includes Global Firepower, WDMMA.org, WDMMW.org, and World War Next.

©2024 www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • Content ©2003-2024 (21yrs)