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    • Year
      1906
      2018
    • Length
      14 m
      23 m
    • Height
      5 m
      9 m
    • Width
      1 m
      8 m
    • Diameter
      3 m
      9 m
    • Wing area
      37 m2
      57 m2
    • Wingspan (Beam)
      15 m
      23 m
    • Wing loading
      3 kg/m2
      829 kg/m2
    • Swept
      4 m
      10 m
    • Sweep
      25 deg
      68 deg
    • Aspect ratio
      1
      26
    • Disc area
      1 m2
      460 m2
    • Main rotor diameter
      1 m
      62 m
    • Rotor number
      1 qt
      8 qt
    • Blades per rotor
      4 qt
      5 qt
    • Disc loading
      17 kg/m2
      73 kg/m2
    • Tail rotor diameter
      0 m
      5 m
    • Empty weight
      7330 kg
      10996 kg
    • Max. takeoff weight (Gross weight)
      14080 kg
      21120 kg
    • Loaded weight
      5 kg
      242500 kg
    • Crew
      1 per.
      3 per.
    • Useful load
      26 kg
      90700 kg
    • Payload
      23 kg
      122470 kg
    • Capacity passengers
      7 per.
      11 per.
    • Hardpoints
      1 qt
      2576 qt
    • Ground Speed
      96 km/h
      1500 km/h
    • Max. Speed
      732 km/h
      1098 km/h
    • Сruise Speed
      704 km/h
      1056 km/h
    • Stall Speed
      40 km/h
      258 km/h
    • Landing Speed
      68 km/h
      270 km/h
    • Minimum control speed
      24 km/h
      113 km/h
    • Never exceed speed
      107 km/h
      1050 km/h
    • Fuel Capacity
      23 l
      320000 l
    • Fuel External
      142 l
      10025 l
    • Power/mass
      0 hp/kg
      23 hp/kg
    • Thrust/weight
      0 kN/kg
      3 kN/kg
    • Afterburning thrust
      29 kN/kg
      980 kN/kg
    • Total Power
      0 hp
      60000 hp
    • Thrust
      39 kN
      60 kN
    • Service ceiling
      11948 m
      17922 m
    • Static ceiling
      3 m
      5485 m
    • Range (Ferry range)
      5184 km
      7776 km
    • Range PTB (Ferry range)
      720 km
      10000 km
    • Сombat radius
      277 km
      7210 km
    • Endurance
      0 h
      150 h
    • Takeoff roll
      20 m
      3200 m
    • Landing roll
      20 m
      2570 m
    • Maximum glide ratio
      7
      43
    • Load factor from
      2 G
      9 G
    • Rate of climb
      1 m/min
      36000 m/min
    • Rate of sink
      36 m/min
      56 m/min
    • Time to altitude
      0 min
      105 min
    • Propellers
      1 qt
      8 qt
    • Prop diameter
      1 m
      6 m
    • Prop blade number
      1 qt
      8 qt
    • Guns
      1 qt
      18 qt
    • Bombs
      1 qt
      250 qt
    • Missiles
      1 qt
      24 qt
    • Rockets
      1 qt
      76 qt
    • Torpedoes
      1 qt
      4 qt
    • Bombs weight
      2 kg
      39000 kg
    • Rockets weight
      1 kg
      48 kg
    • Number built
      281 qt
      423 qt
    • Price
      41 USD
      750000000 USD

Dassault Falcon 50
TypeAircraft
Company

Dassault Aviation SA

Scheme

Low wing

Monoplane

Geometry
Length (m)
1.9
 
18.5
88.7
Height (m)
0.6
 
7.0
50.1
Wings
Wing area (m2)
1.1
 
46.8
925
Wingspan (Beam) (m)
0.1
 
18.9
95
Weights
Empty weight (kg)
8
 
9,163
276,800
Max. takeoff weight (Gross weight) (kg)
154
 
17,600
575,000
Capacity
Crew (per.)
1
 
2
112
Capacity passengers (per.)
1
 
9
400
Speeds
Max. Speed (km/h)
25
 
915
28,165
Сruise Speed (km/h)
52
 
880
3,087
Power
Thrust (kN)
1.5
 
49.5
1,914
3 powerplants 16,5 kN each
Performance
Service ceiling (m)
0.6
 
14,935
161,544
Range (Ferry range) (km)
4
 
6,480
40,700
Stat
Number built (qt)
0
 
352
43,000
Introduction 1976
First flight 07.11.1976
As part of public service missions, several air forces and naval air forces have used aircraft specifically tailored to the nature protection missions, protection of wildlife, and protections of ocean areas. In France, it is the Navy that first has acquired aircraft designed for this which was a deeply modified version of one of the most efficient business jets in the world: Dassault Falcon 50M.

Strandings of two supertankers as the Amoco Cadiz in France and the Exxon Valdez in Alaska have profoundly marked the spirits worldwide. After these tragic accidents it became the objective to prevent similar ecological disasters so the richest counties established monitoring and control of maritime and coastal areas. Environmental protection also highlighted another non accidental phenomenon named the spontaneous degassing. So the French government designed the two main missions that gave birth to the Falcon 50M: the SURMAR (for MARITIME SURVEILLANCE) and POLMAR (for POLice MARitime).

In 1998 the General Staff of the Navy placed an order for four Dassault Aviation Falcon 50 which had to be delivered without interior equipment. The equipment manufacturer Thomson-CSF was asked to change the planes. These devices were similar to those for VIP transportation and for private clients. The first copy was delivered to Thomson in early 1999 and flew in November of the same year.

It was in the form of a low-wing monoplane with a reinforced folding tricycle landing gear. The propulsion was provided by three reactors Garrett TFE731-3-1C 1680 kgf each. The Falcon 50M (M for Navy) for a crew of three to five people depending on the type of mission won a particularly modern and sophisticated equipment. It included a maritime surveillance radar Thales Ocean Master-100, a FLIR (Forward Looking Infra-Red, infrared recognition system long range passive) Chlio retractable and one Inmarsat-C communications system to cover all waves ranging from VLF to HF and VHF-Marine.

This is the 24F flotilla of Naval Aviation who was selected to receive the four tri-jet Dassault. They were officially accepted into service in March 2000 together with North 262 and Embraer Emb-121 Xingu. This unit was specially reactivated to perform SURMAR and POLMAR missions and to alleviate the Dassault Atlantique 2 serving in the French units PATMAR (Maritime Patrol).

In addition to the traditional missions, since 2002 aircraft Falcon 50M have been used in fight missions against drug traffickers and also against maritime terrorism. For these missions the tri-jets were generally full of sniper marine commandos with rifle marksmanship, weapon was used through the door of the plane. This shooting technique is very risky, yet never seems to have been used. More surprisingly, it also happens that a Falcon 50M monitors approach lanes to the Kourou space center during Ariane rocket firing.

Thanks to their autonomy and speed, the Falcon 50M is among the surveillance aircraft and the most effective maritime reconnaissance, especially it was effective at the Caribbean area for identifying and following the go-fast, the speedboats used for drug trafficking towards the United STATES. They stayed close to the boat until the arrival of helicopters, often Dauphin or SH-60, and ships responsible for the inspection.

Since August 2008, a Falcon 50M is frequently seconded to Djibouti for the control missions against piracy in this region.

Today the production line of the Falcon 50 is stopped, and therefore the chances of selling his marine version greatly diminished. However, Iran has three similar aircraft. These are actually modified in 1988 Falcon 50 for the needs of Saddam Hussein, mostly to shoot the air-to-surface missile AM-39 Exocet. In the end of 1990, three aircraft joined Iran in confidence in order to avoid being destroyed by the forces of the international coalition. After the Gulf War, Iran didn’t make the Falcon 50. These aircraft, however, can not really be considered as Falcon 50M, but as their ancestors.

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