The French air and space force has officially taken delivery of its first Dassault Falcon 8X-based “Archange” signals intelligence (SIGINT) aircraft. The first such aircraft arrived at Évreux Air Base in north France, Dassault said yesterday. Following military trials with France’s military air expertise center, CEAM, the aircraft will enter operational service with the on-site Airborne Electronic “Dunkerque” Squadron.
The Avions de Renseignement à CHArge utile de Nouvelle GÉnération (Archange) program calls for three modified Falcon 8Xs to enhance the French air force’s SIGINT capabilities. According to the service, “Its mission is to collect and analyze adversary electromagnetic emissions to improve understanding of their deployment and operational environment.” The delivery and acceptance ceremony follows the inaugural unit’s first flight, conducted from Dassault Aviation’s facility in Bordeaux-Mérignac and announced by the French defense procurement agency (DGA) on July 28.
These missionized business jets will succeed the French air and space force’s two Transall C-160G “Gabriel” aircraft, delivered to the squadron in 1989 and retired in 2022. In 2019, the DGA awarded a contract to Dassault Aviation and primary electronics partner Thales to equip two Falcon 8Xs with a Thales-developed Universal Electronic Warfare Capability (CUGE) SIGINT suite. At the time, the DGA had expected the system to reach initial operational capability in 2025.
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