Textron unveils new MPA aircraft based on its Cessna Citation Longitude

On July 20, Textron Aviation announced a maritime patrol variant (MPA) of its Cessna Citation Longitude aircraft.

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“The Cessna Citation Longitude jet provides an excellent value for Special Mission operations due to its acquisition cost and operation cost combined with excellent speed, range and payload capacity,”  said Bob Gibbs, vice president, Special Mission Sales for Textron Aviation. “Textron Aviation has developed and had certified factory provisions for various mission equipment supporting maritime patrol and surveillance missions, maximizing value for operations worldwide.”

The company reports that, with an eight hour maximum endurance and 3,500 nautical mile maximum range, the Cessna Citation Longitude MPA is outfitted with a transmissive belly radome for maritime radars, Beyond Line of Sight (BLOS) fairing, Electro-Optical/Infra-Red (EO/IR) sensor lift, and optional Night Vision Goggle (NVG) compatible lighting, making it ideally suited for surveillance missions over land and water, conducting  search and rescue, border patrol, fishery monitoring, and more.

The jet special mission configuration provides a lightweight, utility interior that can easily be reconfigured depending on the mission. Convenient storage areas are available in the forward and aft cabin for support gear, plus optional mission consoles allow operators to process sensor data and stream information via datalink.

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The features published by the company are:

MAXIMUM CRUISING SPEED: 483 ktas (895 km/h)
MAXIMUM RANGE: 3,500 nm (6,482 km)
LENGTH OF TAKE OFF RUNWAY: 1,466 m (4,810 ft.)
LANDING DISTANCE: 3,170 feet (966 m)
MAXIMUM OPERATING ALTITUDE: 13,716 m (45,000 ft.)
MAXIMUM ASCENT SPEED: 4,892 fpm (1,491 mpm)
MAXIMUM LIMIT SPEED: 0.84 Mach (0.84 mpm)