Falco EVO Surveillance Drone Touches Down In The Middle East | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-07.07.25

Airborne-NextGen-07.08.25

AirborneUnlimited-07.09.25

Airborne-FlightTraining-07.10.25

AirborneUnlimited-07.11.25

Sat, Nov 25, 2017

Falco EVO Surveillance Drone Touches Down In The Middle East

First Delivery Announced At Dubai Air Show

Leonardo has announced the completion of the first delivery of its Falco EVO Remotely-Piloted Air System (RPAS) to its launch customer in the Middle East. The first of the newly-built aircraft was completed in August with the acceptance test carried out at Leonardo’s RPAS design and construction facility in Ronchi dei Legionary, Italy. It was delivered in September.

The Falco EVO, the longest-endurance model from Leonardo’s Falco RPAS family, is a surveillance and intelligence-gathering platform that can fly for more than 20 hours while carrying a payload of up to 220 pounds. The Falco EVO has already been selected by two customers in the Middle East and Gulf region, echoing the success of the original Falco RPAS which has been chosen by five international customers. Existing Falco aircraft can be converted to the EVO model via the installation of a transformation kit which adds longer wings and tail booms.
 
More than 50 Falco family RPAS are currently in operation around the world, with some customers choosing to operate them independently while others, such as the United Nations for its humanitarian MONUSCO mission, opt for Leonardo to own and operate the Falco aircraft and provide surveillance data as a managed service. This latter model is seen as a growth area for Leonardo, which is why the company recently partnered with certified air operator Heli Protection Europe (HPE) with a view to expanding the ‘drones as a service’ offering into the civilian domain. Here, Leonardo plans to offer surveillance and reconnaissance services on behalf of customers such as police and emergency responders.
 
Leonardo is the only company in Europe able to offer a complete end-to-end RPAS system including its sensors. This capability spans from initial design to operation, including sensors, mission management system and ground control station. The Falco is also the only European RPAS in its class to have been exported and operated by an international customer. In addition to the Falco family, Leonardo is a leader in the unmanned rotorcraft domain, offering the ‘Solo’ and ‘Hero’ platforms. As part of the systems’ ongoing development, the UK Ministry of Defence’s Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) Technology Office recently placed a two year, jointly funded research and development contract with Leonardo with a key aim being to identify, develop and exploit the opportunities offered by such emerging technologies.

(Image provided with Leonardo Company news release)

FMI: www.leonardocompany.com

Advertisement

More News

KidVenture Educational Activities Lineup At EAA AirVenture 2025

Youth Explore With Hands-On Builds, RC Airplanes, Flight Sims, Much More KidVenture is located just north of the EAA Aviation Museum, at Pioneer Airport, and has arranged a myriad >[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (07.07.25)

“About nine decades ago, Amelia Earhart was recruited to Purdue, and the university president later worked with her to prepare an aircraft for her historic flight around the >[...]

Airborne 07.07.25: Sully v Bedford, RAF Vandalism, Discovery Moving?

Also: New Amelia Search, B737 Flap Falls Off, SUN ‘n FUN Unveiling, F-16 Record Captain Sully Sullenberger, the pilot who saved 155 people by safely landing an A320 in the Hu>[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (07.08.25)

"It is critically important for North American flight safety that Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) violations are avoided. All pilots must familiarize themselves with updates to >[...]

Airborne-NextGen 07.08.25: Joby in Dubai, Army Electra, Archer iin Abu Dhabi

Also: Hackers v Aviation, Discovery Moving?, Gogo Galileo HDX, EVE to Costa Rica Joby Aviation announced its electric air taxi successfully completed a series of VTOL wingborne tri>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC