Dassault Aviation, The Multirole Falcon

The Multirole Falcon

"Falcons are not only used for passenger transportation. Once equipped with specific systems, their flexibility and solidity enables them to accomplish a wide variety of military, maritime, public service, sanitary or scientific missions.

The Multirole programs are based on the numerous possibilities of adjustment for the Falcon: each aircraft car receive installations and equipment adapted to a specific use. The Falcon fleet boasts around 200 multirole aircraft used in various missions.

The FALCON 900 MPA is the achievement of fifty years of know-how heaped by DASSAULT AVIATION in the domain of Aeromaritime operations. It encompasses the best of the available technologies in the fields of airframe, avionics, engines and embedded mission systems.

It is a new concept of high performance, low cost and low risk, Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft. The concept of the FALCON 900 MPA builds up directly on lessons learnt from :

• the Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft ATLANTIC family delivered to five different Navies and Air Forces.
• the FALCON family aircraft modified for Maritime Surveillance and operated by several Cost Guard and the French Navy.

The FALCON 900 MPA derived from the business jet FALCON 900DX, the latest version of the FALCON 900 family, is perfectly sized for Maritime Patrol Operations. It is swift, persistent, capable and safe. The mission system and sensors suite, as well as the platform are eligible for growth potential to meet new requirements that could arise during the long life of the Aircraft." ... more

Falcon, Capabilities

"The FALCON 900 MPA is a land based, fixed wing high performance aircraft with a multi-mission capability. The mission system incorporates state-of-the-art sensors and avionics necessary to carry out efficiently the missions and tasks dedicated to Maritime Patrol Aircraft :

- Military missions

• Monitoring of littoral approaches,
• Support to the fleet,
• Anti Submarine Warfare (ASW),
• Anti Surface Unit Warfare (ASUW),
• Target acquisition and reconnaissance (OTHT),
• Intelligence Gathering.

- Operations other than war :

• Surveillance of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ),
• Surveillance of sea lanes of communication,
• Search and Rescue,
• Assistance to Coast Guard, Police and Customs,
• Protection of environment.

The FALCON 900 family features a very light maintenance footprint and demonstrates a very high dispatch reliability. The FALCON 900 MPA can be rapidly deployed to Forward perating Bases where it can be operated without need for Ground Support Equipment GSE) and ground crew." ... more

Falcon, performance

Thanks to its unique low consumption three turbofan configuration the FALCON 900 MPA demonstrates outstanding operational performance :

• Operation from short runways,
• Very high maximum operating altitude (51000 ft),
• Significant cruise speed up to Mach 0.85,
• Long Range/Long Endurance (almost 3 hours at 1200 Nm from its base),
• Two engine ferry capability." ... more

Airframe
"The Airframe of the FALCON 900 MPA is based on the FALCON 900 DX, latest version of the FALCON 900 family. It is modified to carry out the whole range of maritime patrol missions :

• One radar under the fuselage,
• One retractable FLIR,
• Two oversized observation windows,
• Sonobuoys/marker launcher,
• One fife raft drop door for SAR operations,
• Under wing pylons.

Interior layout
The fllor plan is based on a seven crew concept : two pilots, one technical co-ordinator (TACCO), one Deputy TACCO, one Acoustic operator, two observers.

“Glass cockpit” EASy
The flight deck is designed for two-pilot operations. The glass-cockpit EASy, developed by DASSAULT AVIATION is the most advanced flight deck system in the world. It dramatically increases safety and efficiency of the flight deck crew during all the phases of the mission.

Propulsion system
The FALCON 900 MPA is powered by three Honeywell TFE731-60 engines with 5,000 lbs thrust. Each engine is controlled by a Digital Electronic Engine Computer (DEEC) allowing the best efficiency and minimum consumption during each segment of the mission.

Mission System
The mission system of the FALCON 900 MPA incorporates state-of-the-art technologies in both sensors and sub-systems. It allows to carry out efficiently the various tasks dedicated to a multi-mission aircraft with a reduced crew thanks to automatic functions and analysis. The THALES AMASCOS mission systems is composed of :" ... more

Efficiency

"Efficiency stems directly from availability and performance. In term of performance, the FALCON 900 MPA is far ahead of all its same class competitors.

It demonstrates higher cruise and maximum speed, wider scope of operating speed, longer range and endurance, higher cruise altitude.

The state-of-the-art mission system and sensors suite, added to the outstanding performance of the aircraft, allow patrolling at medium or high altitude, thus dramatically increasing the surveyed areas during each mission, in a shorter time.

Based on a business jet platform, the Falcon 900 MPA is very comfortable. This is also a key factor of efficiency for the crew since Maritime Patrol are long lasting mission." ... more

Safety

"Safety is paramount. With three engines, the FALCON 900 MPA has been designed for transoceanic flights.

This configuration increases the safety during low level maritime flights when bird ingestion or engine failure may have dramatic consequences on the crew and the materiel.

The FALCON 900 MPA demonstrates such safety records and performance that it is certified for ferry flights with one engine inoperative, which allows to return to base or reach a service centre instead of being stuck on a deployment airfield until the problem has been fixed." ... more

Falcon, Dimensions

- Cabin width 2.34 m

- Cabin height 1.88 m

- Maximum Takeoff weight 21 183 kg

- Equipped empty weight 11 660 kg

- Fuel 8 541 kg (10 830 litres) ... more