The French defense procurement agency, Direction générale de l’armement (DGA), has formally accepted the development phase and the first two Falcon 2000LXS Albatros maritime surveillance aircraft. In an official statement published on September 8, 2026, the DGA announced that it delivered these first two aircraft on July 27 and July 31, 2026, which have already arrived at the Lann-Bihoué naval air base in Brittany.
These initial maritime surveillance aircraft have been assigned to Flottille 24F. The Centre d’Expérimentations Pratiques et de Réception de l’Aéronautique Navale (CEPA), which serves as the French Navy’s trials and acceptance unit, has officially commenced military testing of the Albatros aircraft ahead of an initial operational capability declaration.
This procurement is part of the Avion de Surveillance et d’Intervention Maritime (AVSIMAR) program, which covers a total of twelve aircraft. The DGA originally ordered seven aircraft in December 2020 and placed a follow-on order for five additional units on September 26, 2025. According to the DGA schedule, a third aircraft is slated for delivery by the end of 2026, with subsequent deliveries proceeding at a cadence of two per year to complete the fleet of twelve by 2031.
The twelve Albatros aircraft will replace a legacy fleet of thirteen aircraft, which comprises eight Falcon 50M aircraft based in Morbihan and five Falcon 200 Gardian aircraft stationed in the Pacific region. The gradual withdrawal of these older maritime surveillance aircraft commenced in 2025. The Albatros is a converted Falcon 2000LXS business jet, featuring a Thales SearchMaster X-band active electronically scanned array radar, a Safran EuroFLIR 410 optronic turret, and a mission system developed by Naval Group.
Separately from the AVSIMAR surveillance program, France is also replacing its Atlantique 2 maritime patrol aircraft fleet under the PATMAR program. For this requirement, the DGA has selected the Airbus A321 MPA, based on the Airbus A321 (ICAO type code A321) platform.
