The Archangel takes off. The future intelligence plane of the Air Force and space has made its inaugural flight, announces the General Directorate of Armament (DGA). A crucial step for this program, which will allow French armies to have the latest capacity in terms of intelligence collection.
Called Archangel (interesting plane of the new generation), the plane will take charge of the C160 Cansall Gabriel, removed in 2022, for electromagnetic missions of original intelligence, namely, the interception of radio emissions and radar and the analysis of telecommunications networks.
General Jérôme Bellanger also emphasized that the Archangel program “will be very important for the rest of our operations and in terms of intelligence” and that the plans “will offer an essential capacity of ROEM in terms of strategic intelligence, surveillance, preparation for commitment and support for our in -depth operations such as our tactical missions.”
A militarized civil plane
The Archangel is actually a civil plane, to which military equipment and systems are added. It is the Falcon 8x business plan of Dassault Aviation that was selected in 2019 to serve as a platform, the Thales equipment provider will have the responsibility of integrating the systems for intelligence missions.
In a civil version, Dassault paid can transport eight passengers and three crew members at a distance of almost 12,000 km, a significant and essential autonomy for military intelligence missions.
Three aircraft to strengthen intelligence
The Military Programming Law (LPM) establishes the delivery of three aircraft by the end of 2030. The first was initially delivered in 2025, the following two in 2026 and 2028. However, the program was a bit of delay, the latest elements communicated by the Chief of Staff of the Air Force and the space that two deliveries reported in 2027 and a third in 2029.
When delivered, the three aircraft will be parked at the 105 Air Base in Évreux and will be assigned to the 54th Electronic Squadron “Dunkerque”, which also performs missions, among others, for the benefit of the Department of Military Intelligence.
The arches will join the Vader, the lights of surveillance and intelligence of light, also based on a business plane, the Beechcraft King Air 350.
Waiting for the delivery of the Archangel and to compensate for the withdrawal of the C160 Gabriel, the Air Force and the space uses a provisional solution: rent flight hours of a SAAB 340 plane as part of a contract called “Solar”, describes as “a waiting solution that allows preserving the skills and experience of our specialized human resources” by General Bellanger.
A solution would seem very useful, because “even if SAAB 340 is a notch below the C160 Gabriel, allows many things in terms of ROEM. Its few hundred flight hours per year show that we use it,” reveals the head of Personnel of the Air Force and space.
Source: BFM TV
