Selex Galileo announces successful Falco EVO maiden flight

Selex Galileo has announced that the newest addition to its Falco Tactical Unmanned Aerial System (TUAS) family, the Falco EVO, has successfully performed its maiden flight. The company made the announcement 23 July 2012.

The Falco EVO has a payload capacity of up to 100kg and an extended endurance of up 18 hours. During its maiden flight the UAC flew ‘exceptionally well’ according to Selex, and performed a smooth landing after 40 minutes in the sky. The company said that after a regular take off from Cheshnegirovo air base in Bulgaria in less than 200 metres of runway, the Falco EVO has levelled up at 1500 ft (990ft agl) and has performed 3 fly-bys of the nearby airport in order to test the UAS’ flap configurations. After performing several landing approaches aimed at verifying the behaviour during landing, the Falco EVO has touched down smoothly and has returned to the hangar where it will await further trials including testing of its flight and mission envelopes.

The UAV is an upsize version of the Falco UAS, which is now in service with 4 international customers. It has been designed to integrate a wide range of payloads that are already in use on other Falco aircraft. It is also fully compatible and interoperable with the current Falco-family ground control segment, further enhancing a customer’s ability to perform persistent surveillance.