French Ministry of Defense receives first ALSR light surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft.

French Directorate General of Armament (DGA), on July 31, received the first of two light surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft (Avions Légers de Surveillance et de Reconnaissance, ALSR) ordered in june 2016 from Sabena Technics and Thales.

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The ALSR system consists of a Beechcraft King Air 350 and different devices for carrying out intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance missions (Picture source: DGA)

The ALSR is capable of performing intelligence missions with a low logistics footprint and great ease of deployment. The Military Programming Law (LPM) 2019-2025 provides for a fleet of eight ALSRs by 2030. As part of the defense section of the support plan to Aeronautics, the order of the third ALSR will be anticipated to 2023 instead of 2027 as initially planned.

The ALSR systems consists of a Beechcraft King Air 350 and different devices for carrying out intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance missions. They will be operated by the Air Force (Armée de l’Air) for the benefit of the French military intelligence. They will be complementary to other intelligence and surveillance means in the framework of external operations (drones, Rafale, Atlantique 2, etc.).

Main characteristics of the ALSR system: Wing span: 17 m. Length: 14 m. Height: 4.30 m. Motorization: 2 x Pratt & Whitney PT6A-60A.