“Albatros” is a maritime aviation surveillance and intervention program run by Dassault Aviation in response to a requirement from the French Navy, based on a military version of the Falcon 2000LXS. The Directorate-General of Armaments’ initial order is for seven aircraft out of a planned total of twelve. Dassault Aviation has assigned Safran Electrical & Power the task of electrically modifying and installing the wiring for these seven aircraft, with an option for five additional airplanes. The wiring will be manufactured in Vichy and then installed on the aircraft at the customer’s premises in Mérignac. The first “Albatros” will be delivered to the French Navy in 2025.
“Following the Archange contract we won in 2021, this is the second Falcon mission program for which we have been selected. We will be industrializing these electrical harnesses from their digital definition supplied by the customer, using a solution from our digital suite. The agreement with Dassault Aviation is a ‘turnkey’ project that includes the manufacture of the wiring, its on-board installation and all testing,” explains Benoit Gagey, Program Manager for Safran Electrical & Power.
Over 2,250 Falcon family aircraft have been delivered in more than 80 countries; logging more than 16 million flight hours. When equipped with specific systems, their performance, flexibility and robustness enable them to accomplish a wide variety of military as well as public service missions. The Falcon’s wide body fuselage allows numerous layout possibilities for multirole missions. Each aircraft can receive equipment and systems tailored to specific roles, such as maritime surveillance and reconnaissance, aerial photography, weapons system training, electronic warfare, target towing, air ambulance…
Nearly 10% of the Falcon aircraft are used by military or governmental services. The Falcon fleet counts over 200 multirole aircraft used for various missions. These aircraft have brought to their operators a very high level of efficiency, reliability and maintainability, whether for civilian or military missions’ purposes. In order to respond to changing needs for blue water operations as well as coastal and border surveillance, spin-off versions of the Falcon 2000 and the Falcon 900 business jets have been designed. This new cost-efficient multi-role aircraft family of Falcons has been built on the expertise and feedback experience gained by Dassault Aviation.
