Dassault Aviation has delivered the development aircraft and the first two Falcon 2000LXS Albatros maritime surveillance aircraft to France’s defence procurement agency for use by the French Navy. The aircraft are part of the AVSIMAR programme and are destined for Lann-Bihoué naval air base in Brittany, where they join Flottille 24F ahead of military trials.
The two operational aircraft arrived in July and have now entered the experimentation phase with the Centre d’expérimentations pratiques et de réception de l’aéronautique navale as the fleet moves towards initial operational capability. A third Albatros is due by the end of 2026, with deliveries then continuing at a rate of two aircraft a year.
AVSIMAR was launched in 2020 to replace France’s ageing maritime surveillance fleet. The programme covers 12 aircraft in total by 2031, after seven were ordered in 2020 and a further five in 2025. The Albatros, based on the Falcon 2000LXS, carries mission systems from Naval Group, Safran and Thales and is set to take over duties now performed by Falcon 50M and Falcon 200 Gardian aircraft.