Malta’s sole Islander to be upgraded

Britten-Norman has been contracted to provide a mid-life update for the Armed Forces of Malta’s sole BN-2T Turbine Islander light utility aircraft.

BN-2T Turbine Islander [Armed Forces of Malta]
The Armed Forces of Malta's sole Britten-Norman BN-2T Islander - serial AS9819 (c/n 2156) - in flight. Armed Forces of Malta

This latest upgrade will include a major update to the aircraft’s cockpit, providing it with an enhanced search and rescue (SAR) functionality, as well as a new capability of performance-based navigation. It follows on from a previous update, which brought new mission sensors to the aircraft, along with an upgrade from piston engines to the Rolls-Royce Model 250 turboprop.

The heart of this modernisation, announced by Britten-Norman on March 25, is the installation of a new Garmin G600TXi glass cockpit, with the GTN 650Xi and GTN 750Xi navigation, communication and global positioning system (NAV/COMM/GPS) suites. The latest addition to the Garmin avionics suite – the GI275 electronic flight instrument (a multi-function display) – will also be installed on the aircraft.

As part of this latest upgrade process, a deep maintenance check, new interior trim and upholstery, as well as an external repaint, will also be carried out.