The Britten-Norman Defender is a militarized version of the successful Britten-Norman Islander twin turboprop-powered aircraft. The Islander originated in the 1960s and became a global entity, seeing over 1,200 examples produced and delivered by the end of her tenure. Within these orders, the type proved versatile enough to handle a wide range of sortie requirements that only served to strengthen her legacy as a durable Short Take-Off and Landing (STOL) airframe. Following financial difficulties, Britten-Islander was bought by a pair of Omani business men (brothers in the Zawawi family) and formed into B-N Group. Both the Islander and the Defender continue to be marketed today under various product faces to enhance her reach. The Islander/Defender replaced the Beaver in the British Army inventory and is only one of two types of fixed-wing aircraft currently in service with the Army Air Corps.
The Defender has since served in a variety of roles including that of counter-insurgency (extensively so during Northern Ireland operations), reconnaissance, surveillance and utility light transport. Among other sortie types in the Defender's forte became light attack and forward air control (FAC) when necessary. The Defender has proven a capable and robust platform since her inception into service leading to the "Maritime Defender" - a designation covering the armed maritime version of the base Defender multi-role utility transport. The Defender was officially added to the ranks of the British Army on March 10th, 1989.
Design is wholly utilitarian and is most characteristically defined by the high-mounted monoplane wings. Each wing maintains an Allison 250-B17F turboprop engine powering a three-bladed propeller. The cockpit compartment is held well forward in the squared off fuselage with slab sides and features a useful sloped nose for improved downward visibility. The undercarriage is a conventional tricycle arrangement and made up of two double-tired main landing gear legs and a single-tired nose landing gear leg - as a whole, the undercarriage is non-retractable. The empennage is dominated by a single large-area vertical tail fin clipped at the top and sporting some sweep along the leading edge. Horizontal tailplanes are affixed to the vertical fin tail. Typical accommodations are for two pilots and up to six passengers. Entry/exit is via side doors, two forward and two aft. Her gross weight is listed at 7,000lbs. Each wing can field four hardpoints for various munition options to include gun pods, rocket pods and bombs if need be or external fuel tanks for extended loitering times and operational range. Specialized reconnaissance and surveillance mounts are fitted with applicable tailored equipment, cameras and jamming pods as well as a bevy communications options. Airborne Early Warning (AEW) Defenders sport a hideous-looking nose radome that quickly identifies the type and its role.
In 2003, the UK military purchased three (some sources state four) Defenders to help with the deteriorating conditions in Iraq following the 2003 coalition invasion. These aircraft carried the designation of Defender 4S AL Mk 1 and sported underwing dispensers to protect against surface-to-air guided munitions. This model was furthered defined by the implementation of an electro-optical turret under the extreme end of the nose.
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Specifications
Britten-Norman - UK Manufacturer(s)
Denmark; Ireland; Mauritius; Morocco; Pakistan; Philippines; United Kingdom; United States Operators
CLOSE-AIR SUPPORT
Developed to operate in close proximity to active ground elements by way of a broad array of air-to-ground ordnance and munitions options.
SPECIAL-MISSION: AIRBORNE EARLY WARNING
Specially-equipped platform providing over-battlefield Command and Control (C2) capability for allied aerial elements.
SPECIAL-MISSION: ELETRONIC WARFARE
Equipped to actively deny adversaries the ElectroMagnetic (EM) spectrum and protect said spectrum for allied forces.
TRANSPORT
General transport functionality to move supplies/cargo or personnel (including wounded and VIP) over range.
INTELLIGENCE-SURVEILLANCE-RECONNAISSANCE
Surveil ground targets / target areas to assess environmental threat levels, enemy strength, or enemy movement.
35.9 ft (10.93 meters) Length
49.0 ft (14.93 meters) Width/Span
13.8 ft (4.20 meters) Height
4,998 lb (2,267 kilograms) Empty Weight
8,499 lb (3,855 kilograms) Maximum Take-Off Weight
Mission-specific but can include a combination of the following across four underwing hardpoints:
Conventional Drop Bombs
Air-to-Surface Missiles
7.62mm Machine Gun Pods
Rocket Pods
Reconnaissance Pods and Equipment
2,500lbs in External Fuel Tanks
4 Hardpoints
BN2T "Defender" - Base Utility Transport Variant
BN2T-4S "Defender 4000" - Surveillance Platform; enlarged wing area and nose assembly; FLIR; GPS; increased weights.
BN2T "Maritime Defender" - Maritime Patrol and General Reconnaissance Platform.
Defender AL1 - British Army Designation
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