Paris Air Show 2019: Leonardo will unveil new 24-hour endurance surveillance drone.

The Italian Company Leonardo will unveil a new 24-hour endurance surveillance drone at Paris Air Show 2019, that will take place in Le Bourget, France, from the 17 to 23 June 2019. According to Leonardo, the new unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is the third evolution in the Falco family.

Leonardo FALCO Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (Picture source )

The new drone has a weight of around 1,000 kg and can carry a payload from 300 to 350 kg.

The FALCO is an Unmanned Airborne System (UAS) designed for day/night multispectral Tactical and Theatre UAV surveillance roles and tasks, with demonstrated airspace integration capability. It provides reliable and persistent surveillance over its assigned area of operations becoming an information and intelligence node integral with the Customer’s C4I network.

The FALCO specific characteristics of deployability, endurance, survivability and its wide suite of mission payload, making it particularly suitable for missions of stand-off persistent surveillance, target detection, localization, identification, designation and network data dissemination.

The Falco UAV is 5.2 m long, 1.8 m high, has a 7.3 m wingspan and a top speed of 216 km/h. A maximum altitude of around 5,000 m and endurance of up to 14 hours can be attained. The Falco UAV fly at a height of 6,500m and can carry a maximum payload of 70kg.

In March 2009 it was reported that a modified version named Falco Evo, Evo meaning evolution, was being offered. It features larger tail booms and wings which almost double wingspan to 12.5 m and increases payload from 70 kg to 100 kg. The Falco EVO System has a payload capacity of up to 100 kg and an extended endurance of up to 18 hours.