France’s Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA) has taken delivery of the development aircraft and the first two Falcon 2000LXS Albatros aircraft under the AVSIMAR maritime surveillance programme.
Launched in 2020, the programme calls for 12 Falcon 2000LXS Albatros aircraft by 2031 for maritime surveillance and intervention missions.
The Albatros is based on the Falcon 2000LXS business jet and has been modified for maritime operations. The aircraft is equipped with a multifunction radar, electro-optical turret, observation windows, a search-and-rescue (SAR) chain-dropping system and dedicated communications systems.
Dassault Aviation carried out the development of the aircraft in cooperation with Naval Group, Safran and Thales. Flight testing was conducted at Dassault Aviation’s flight test centre in Istres, while aircraft conversion is being performed at the company’s Mérignac facility.
The Falcon 2000LXS platform provides a range of around 7,400 km, combining high-speed transit capability with low-speed flight characteristics required for maritime surveillance missions.
“From the Falcon 20 of the U.S. Coast Guard to the Falcon 900 and 2000MSA of the Japanese Coast Guard, and including the Falcon 200 Gardian and 50M of the French Navy, we have extensive experience in maritime surveillance,” said Éric Trappier, Chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation.
“These aircraft provide a high-performance response to the significant challenges of sovereignty, maritime security, and state action at sea: combating pollution and trafficking, border and exclusive economic zone surveillance, fisheries policing, search and rescue at sea, medical evacuations, and more,” Trappier added.
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The programme involves converting the Falcon 2000LXS into a specialised maritime surveillance aircraft, requiring integration of radar, electro-optical, communications and SAR equipment with the existing business-jet platform.
With 12 aircraft planned, the programme will also create a longer-term requirement for maintenance, mission-system support, component servicing and lifecycle support for the French maritime surveillance fleet.
