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2020-02-02

French Air Force to Fly Falcon Archange

The French Defense Procurement Agency (DGA) recently ordered the Archange airborne strategic intelligence programme, comprising three Dassault Aviation Falcon 8X aircraft equipped with the Thales new-generation payload CUGE (universal electronic warfare capability). A contract has been awarded for the first two aircraft on the programme. CUGE will ultimately be deployed by three Falcon X aircraft, built by Dassault Aviation, to replace two Transall C-160 Gabriel aircraft in service with the French Air Force from 2025.

The required level of performance of the Archange Falcons necessitates highly complex integration work, something Dassault Aviation and Thales specialise in.

“I am very proud and happy with the decision of the Ministry of the Armed Forces. The Archange Falcon will serve the French forces in the same way as the Falcons 10, 200, 50, 2000, 900 and 7X are already doing it,” said Eric Trappier, Chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation. “The special mission Falcons provide the perfect illustration of the dual competences of Dassault Aviation: our civil aircraft benefit from the cutting-edge technologies developed for our combat aircraft, which in return benefit from the industrial processes deployed for the highly competitive production of the Falcon aircraft.”

The Falcons are not only used for passenger transportation. 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 per cent 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 bring a high level of efficiency, reliability and maintainability, whether for civilian or military missions’ purposes. The spin-off versions of the Falcon 2000 and the Falcon 900 business jets have been designed in order to respond to the changing needs for blue water operations as well as coastal and border surveillance.

Deploying Digital Tech

With the ongoing development of digital technologies for the battlefield of the future, the armed forces are in the process of enhancing their intelligence capabilities. In the theatre of operations, they need to manage ever more complex tactical situations in real time, deploying surveillance systems that enable the intelligence services to make the best decisions in a timely fashion.

Thales, in partnership with Dassault Aviation, the DGA and the French Armed Forces, has developed a new generation of signals intelligence (SIGINT) technologies under several advanced study programmes. Thales will produce all the sensors for the SIGINT payload and integrate the overall system on board Dassault Aviation's Falcon 8X aircraft.

These new technologies will enable the system to detect and analyse radar and radar signals simultaneously for the first time, in particular thanks to Thales's multi-polarisation antennas and the use of its Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies to automate data processing.

The information collected by the systems will then be analysed by monitoring and intelligence specialists and fed into armed forces databases. The programme also includes a ground-based training platform. Through this new programme, the French armed forces will once again rely on Thales expertise to significantly enhance their SIGINT capabilities, and will gain a crucial advantage through a better understanding of the strategic environment.

The ability to anticipate developments is key to national security, and reliable intelligence is therefore a critical requirement to understand the risks and inform operational decisions.

“Thales, in partnership with Dassault Aviation, is proud to support the French armed forces on this strategic programme, which will bring the country new intelligence capabilities by developing the successor to the Transall Gabriel as part of Europe's defences,” said Nadim Traboulsi, Archange programme director for Thales.

The tri-jet Falcon 8X is the latest addition to the Falcon range. The business jet version can carry eight passengers and three crew members over a distance of 6,450 nm (12,000 km). It has digital flight controls, which stem directly from Dassault Aviation’s experience acquired with the Mirage 2000 and Rafale. It is equipped with an EASY digital flight deck and the FalconEye combined vision system (CVS).

Exported to more than 90 countries, the Falcon aircraft are flexible and economic to fly. Their handling qualities and aerodynamics render them capable of fulfilling missions that go beyond civil aviation standards. They are designed by the design office that also develops the Rafale and nEUROn combat aircraft. Over the last 50 years, Dassault Aviation has customised many Falcons for purposes such as medical evacuation, cargo transport, maritime surveillance, electronic warfare, etc. These multirole aircraft represent about 10 per cent of the Falcon fleet in service across the world.

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