The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is negotiating with the Italian company Alenia to buy four ATR-72 anti-submarine (ASW) aircraft. This would mean mounting the sensors and other equipment from an ATR-42 Surveyor maritime patrol aircraft on the ATR-72 airframe. Weapons will include AM39 Exocet missiles, Mu90 lightweight torpedoes, depth charges, and a pod-mounted machinegun. The aircraft will carry a Raytheon synthetic aperture radar able to track a ship from 122 nautical miles while operating at 10,000 feet. There will be a rotary sonobouy launcher, magnetic anomaly detector, and a self-protection system (chaff, flares, jammers). The UAE will need two (and possibly four) of the aircraft, while India and Italy are also interested. The new design will be approved for operations 36 months after receiving a big enough order to start production.Stephen V Cole