Britten-Norman Defender

what is it?

The Britten-Norman Defender is a multi-role utility transport aircraft, manufactured by Britten-Norman of the United Kingdom. It is the military version of the Britten-Norman Islander, developed for roles such as utility transport, casualty evacuation, counter-insurgency and light attack, forward air control, patrol and reconnaissance. The term 'Britten-Norman Defender' refers to all militarised variants of the BN-2 product line including the BN-2 Piston Defender, the BN-2T Turbine Defender (sometimes known as the Defender 2000), the BN-2T-4R Defender (also known as AEW Defender and highlighted by its large bulbous nose) and the stretched variant BN-2T-4S, designated Defender 4000 (sometimes known as D4K).

🔎How to recognise it: 2 turboprops · 16.2 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 326 km/htop speed
• range 1,863 kmwithout refuelling
• seats 16passengers
• size 3,856 kgmax take-off weight

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 56 years ago, in 1970.
• 🏎️Top speed is 2.5× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 16.2 m: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🌍Range of 1,863 km: 10× Amsterdam to Brussels.

turboprop: A jet-style turbine turning a propeller: efficient on short hops.

spec sheet

first flight

1970-05

status

still flying

number built

—

role

transport, patrol, reconnaissance

origin

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

makers

Britten-Norman

engines

2× Rolls-Royce 250 B17F / O-540-E4C5

crew

2

passengers

16

length

12.2 m

wingspan

16.2 m

height

4.4 m

max take-off weight

3,856 kg

top speed

326 km/h

cruise speed

278 km/h

range

1,863 km

ceiling

7,620 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.

family