MARITIME SURVEILLANCE AIRCRAFT

HISTORY

Birth of the program 

In 1961 the Dassault design team, led by Paul Déplante, Paul Chassagne and Ren2 Lemaire decided to give a second chance to the " Méditerranée " ( a corporate jet prototype). The Mystère 20 (the new plane's first name) was capable of transporting ten passengers at a cruising speed of Mach 0.8.

Because of it's limited range (1,000 to 1,5000km), the new plane was at first designed for the european market only. But the american market was becoming more important every day, and Dassault eventually decided to increase the plane's performances to 2,000km. The Mystère 20 actually benefitted from many technical advances made available by the Ouragan-Mystère and Mirage fighters. It was built by Sud-Aviation. The prototype made it's maiden flight on May 4th 1963, flown by René Bigand. At the same time PanAm (Pan American World Airlines) was considering opening a new branch, designed around corporate travelling. PanAm vice-president Gledhill, accompagnied by Charles Lindbrgh visited and flew the prototype (Mystère 20-01), and on August 2nd 1963 the company placed a firm order for 40 planes and an option for a further 120, all powered by GE CF-700 engines.

A new version of the Falcon 20, the HU-25 Guardian, was bought by the USA Coast Guard (41 planes were ordered), and deliveries started in 1979. They were widely used in the 1991 Gulf War. Their other major rôle is the anti-drug duty.

 

With the French Naval Aviation

Concept
In June 1977 the French Navy had to take into account the increase of its needs in maritime surveillance platforms, mainly due to the progressive extension (to 200miles) of France's economic exclusivity zone.
The Navy was looking for an aircraft to replace the ageing Lockheed P-2H Neptune (P2V-7), to fullfill maritime patrol and surveillance missions with squadrons 9.S and 12.S in the Pacific. The specifications were for a very fast plane, capable of rapid altitude changes. Further requirements were : at least two engines (for safety reasons), being able to rapidly reach isolated zones, being able to patrol wide zones for a long time. The plane was to be fitted with state of the art navigation and detection equipment, both reliable and sturdy. Since it was going to operate from isolated and summary bases, it had also had to be easy and fast to service.
Using the experience gained with the HU-25A Guardian ; Dassault then offered a smal twin-engined jet meeting thes specifications and well suited for maritime surveillance. The Gardian avionnics suit comprises a Varan radar (optimized to detect small objects in rough seas), a Crouzet navigation&attack system, a calculator and finally an automatic navigation chart. It is also equipped with a hatch in the floor to drop survival gear and marking devices, and eventually to evacuate the crew. The Gardian has two big obervation windows on each side of the fuselage, and 4 hardpoints under the wings for heavy loads ( various sensors, target towing cases, EM and IR counter measures).
The planes have four main missions :
-Search and Rescue (SAR)
-Law enforcement (ELT)
-Maritime environment protection (MEP)
-Scientific and Maritimes Experimentation (MSA)

From the first tests to service entry
The first Gardian, a modified Falcon 20H, by then known as the Falcon 200, made it's first flight at Merignac on April 24th 1979, flown by Henri Suisse and Jean-Marie Barthelemy. The first production airframe (n°48) rolled out of the Merignac factory on March 18th 1981 and made its first flight on April 15th with Hervé Leprince-Ringuet (pilot) and JM Barthelemy (flight test engineer) in the cockpit. This crew went on to perform all the tests and evaluations of the Gardian with the CEV (Centre d'Essais en Vol/Test Flight Center). The French Navy officially placed the order for 5 planes on May 13th 1981. This deal included the development and manufacturing of 5 airframes, to be delivered on two batches, a first batch of two airframes and a second one of three. Gardian n°48 was handed over to the Navy the same day. The CEPA (Naval Aviation Practical Experimentations Center) Gardian detachment was opened on September 13th 1982 at Istres ; it closed in July 1984.

Type

Construction

S/n

Naval aviation number

Former code

Gardian

1982

448

48

F-ZWVF

Gardian

1983

465

65

F-ZJTS

Gardian

1983

472

72

F-Z...

Gardian

1983

477

77

F-Z...

Gardian

1984

480

80

F-ZJSA

With flights 9.S and 12.S flights (1983-2000)
On April 14th 1983 the first Gardian was officially handed over to Admiral Leenhardt, Navy Chief of Staff, by Bruno-Claude Vallières.

Falcon 20H Gardians flying over the Pacific Ocean. (©Marine Nationale)
The replaced and the replacement : P-2H (P2V-7) Neptune on the left and Falcon 20H Gardian on the right. (©Marine Nationale)

The first two planes (n°65 and 77), travel from Istres to their new base at NAS Tontouta and fligh 9.S ; the trip takes from July 3rd to July 10th 1984. The next two planes (n°48 and 72) join their assignement with flight 12.S at NAS Tahiti Faa. The last plane (n°80) is conveyed by Dassault pilots using a different route, to allow the manufacturer to expose and demonstrate the Gardian in Egypte, the UAE, Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia ; it arrives at Faa on July 28th. They fly their first operational surveillance mission on August 10th.
Three days later the Gardians replace the Neptunes for good within flight 12.S, and that very same day Gardian n°48 performed a MEDEVAC mission from the Huahiné island. Ever since, planes from flights 9.S and 12.S are commonly called upon to perform civilian and military evacuations.

The first sea rescue operation
On February 27th 1984 a French Navy Gardian performed the types first search missions, launched during what had started as a simple training mission. Alerted after taking-off for a training session, a Gardian was diverted and included in a SAR operation to find a small 10m sailboat lost in the Mediterranean sea.
After searching the sea for 15 minutes with the radar, flying at 1,800ft, the crew received an echo on the Varan's scope, 52km away. Rescue procedures then went under way : descent, identification of the ship, localization with the Omega navigation&attack system, and relaying of the ships position to the rest of the rescue force. An hour later the sailor, adrift for more than 48 hours, was rescued by a patrol ship. On its way back to Istres, flying at 15,000ft, mission accomplished, the Gardian kept the sailboat on it's scope for more than 90km and could make out the Navy ships converging on it.

Falcon 20H Gardian No48 rolling out. (©Dassault-Aviation)

Furthermore, unlike the Coast-Guard Guardians that perform only civilian duties in peacetime, french Gardians are fully integrated in military operations : they often work alongside Navy vessels, and until the end of nuclear tests in the Pacific, they were in charge of the surveillance of the Pacific Experimentation Center (CEP). Today their main mission in the Pacific is the surveillance of France's exclusive economic zone (which represents no less than 6 million sq/km) and SAR.

Falcon 20H Gardian No48 belonging to 12.S flight. (©Alain Crosnier)

25.F squadron (since 2000)

Two Falcon 20H Gardians of 25.F squadron. (©Marine Nationale)

Asleep since July 23rd 1983, this squadron was reactivated on September 1st 2000 when flights 9.S and 12.S merged. Head-Quarters are based at NAS Tahiti-Faa (with two planes). Detachments are sent to NAS Tontouta (one plane) and Fort-de-France in the west indies (one plane). Approximatively 2,100 hours are flown every year on the three operating theaters.


  • CHARACTERISTICS
  • PHOTO GALLERY
  • NEWS

sources - acknowledgements :
"Avion Marins" Luc Berger - Dassault Aviation - 1998.
Marine Nationale

[AIRCRAFT MENU] [MAIN MENU] [HOME]

©French Fleet Air Arm. www.ffaa.net. All rights reserved.