The Albatros will be used primarily for surveillance and protection missions, as well as to support populations in the event of a natural disaster. It is based on the civilian Falcon 2000 LXS, equipped with the sensors needed for maritime surveillance and intervention missions. It will have a range 10 to 30% greater than that of current maritime surveillance aircraft.
Equipped with SATCOM-type information superiority capabilities, it will also have a Search and Rescue beacon detector, a lifeboat release system and smoke markers for sea rescue missions. The main high-performance sensors, the Thales SearchMaster X-band active antenna maritime surveillance radar (AESA) and the Safran Euroflir 410 optronic ball will be managed by a mission system developed by Naval Group. This cross-development reflects the technical excellence of French manufacturers in these fields.
After a successful first flight on January 24, 2025, the Albatros is now undergoing test and certification flights conducted with the contribution of the DGA Flight Tests center, at the Istres site (13), with a view to first operational capability (PCO) at the end of 2026.
Conducted in stages, the AVSIMAR program initially aims to acquire a fleet of twelve aircraft to meet all intervention missions and some surveillance missions. This order for five additional aircraft will secure around one hundred jobs at Dassault to carry out the militarization of these aircraft.
The second phase of the program provides for the acquisition of additional resources, particularly drones, in order to achieve 100% of the surveillance objectives.
