protection of the sky – Coming out of the Dassault Aviation factories, the first Falcon F8X in the colors of the Air Force was seen around Bordeaux-Mérignac airport, before its delivery to the “Dunkerque” squadron of BA 105 in Evreux
Entirely white, the first Falcon F8X “Archange” bearing the tricolor cockade, was recently spotted at Bordeaux-Mérignac airport. Photos of the device were posted on social networks. It would have been “a few months” that he had been out and about, according to military specialists.
But what is the Archangel? Acronym for “New generation payload intelligence aircraft”, this is the program of the future French airborne electronic intelligence platform, which will equip the Air and Space Force (AAE).
Late delivery
This program involves the transformation of three Dassault Aviation Falcon 8X business jets into electronic intelligence platforms. The first test flight of this program was announced on July 25 by the Directorate General of Armament (DGA), with a delay since the first aircraft was to be delivered to the “Dunkerque” squadron at air base 105 in Evreux (Eure) in 2025, to succeed the two Transall C-160 Gabriels of the Air Force.
“We had an unpleasant surprise from industrialists who were unable to keep the timetable to which they had committed”, explained General Fabien Mandon, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces (CEMA), during a hearing in the Senate, recalls the specialized site Military Zone. “The difficulty is to fit an electronic computing bay into an aircraft which has limited space,” he added.
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