Breguet Alizé The Breguet Br . 1050 Alizé ( French : " Tradewind " ) was a French carrier - based anti - submarine warfare aircraft . It was developed in the 1950s , based loosely on the second prototype Breguet Vultur attack aircraft which had been modified into the Breguet Br . 965 Épaulard anti - submarine warfare aircraft . Description . The " Alizé " was a low - wing monoplane of conventional configuration . It had a CSF radar system with a retractable antenna dome in its belly . The cockpit accommodated a crew of three , including pilot , radar operator , and sensor operator . The pilot was seated in front on the left , the navigator in front on the right , and the sensor operator sat sideways behind them . The landing gear was of tricycle configuration , with the main gear retracting backwards into nacelles in the wings . The main gear had dual wheels , and the front part of the nacelles accommodated sonobuoys . The " Alizé " had a yoke - style arresting hook . The internal weapons bay could accommodate a homing torpedo or depth charges , and underwing stores pylons could carry bombs , depth charges , rockets , or missiles . Typical underwing stores included 68 mm ( 2 . 68 in ) rocket pods or AS . 12 wire - guided antiship missiles . Operational history . The prototype Alizé first flew on 6 October 1956 . It was exhibited at the Paris Air Show at Paris Le Bourget Airport in May 1957 . A total of 89 examples of the " Alizé " were built between 1957 and 1962 , including two preproduction prototypes . 75 production aircraft were acquired by the " Aéronavale " , with initial service delivery in March 1959 . The " Alizé " went into operation on the carriers " Arromanches " , " Clémenceau " and " Foch " , and were also used in shore - based training . 12 were acquired by the Indian Navy . Some sources say that there were five preproduction prototypes , which may mean some of the prototypes were brought up to production standard and passed on to the " Aéronavale " ; and that India acquired 17 examples , which hints that they bought five used aircraft from the " Aéronavale " . The Indian Navy operated the " Alizé " from shore bases and from the light carrier " Vikrant " . The " Alizé " was used for reconnaissance and patrol during India ' s 1961 invasion of Portuguese controlled Goa , and was also used for ASW patrol during the Indo - Pakistani War of 1971 , during which one " Alizé " was shot down by a Pakistan Air Force F - 104 Starfighter . It was also instrumental in taking out many gunboat s unopposed during the war . The " Alizé " dwindled in numbers in the Indian Navy during the 1980s , was relegated to shore - based patrol in 1987 . Nevertheless , they were employed that year in support of the Indian Peacekeeping Force ' s Operation Pawan in Sri Lanka , flying sorties against the LTTE and crippling the merchant ship Progress Light . The type was finally phased out in 1991 , replaced in its duties by ASW helicopters . The " Aéronavale " provided the " Alizé " with a series of upgrades . A modernization program performed in the early 1980s refitted 28 of the aircraft to the Br . 1050M standard , featuring improved Thomson - CSF " Iguane " radar as used on the " Atlantique " NG ocean - patrol aircraft , new OMEGA radio navigation gear , and a new ARAR 12 radar and radio location ( " electronic support measures / ESM " ) system . Another upgrade program in the early 1990s fitted 24 of these aircraft with a new decoy system ; a microcomputer - based data processing system that could have hardly been imagined when the aircraft was new ; a datalink system ; and other new avionics . Later in the decade , they were also fitted with the Thomson - CSF TTD Optronique Chlio forward - looking infrared ( FLIR ) imaging sensor . Despite the upgrades , by this time the " Alizé " was clearly not up to the task of hunting modern nuclear submarines , and so it was tasked with ocean surface patrol . As late as 1997 , the " Aéronavale " was still operating 24 examples for surface patrol , though they were clearly on their way out by then . The " Alizé " was used operationally during the NATO air campaign against Yugoslavia over Kosovo in the spring of 1999 , with the aircraft flying off the carrier " Foch " . The last " Alizé " was finally withdrawn from service in 2000 with the retirement of the " Foch " . Legacy . Several aircraft are know to exist ( see pictures ) :