The Falco Evo is a single-engine, twin-boom surveillance drone from Italy, built by stretching the wings and tail booms of the earlier Falco to 12.5 metres. It first flew on 23rd July 2012 and the first new-build aircraft were delivered to a Middle Eastern customer in 2017. Developed by Leonardo (Selex Galileo, later Selex ES).
The Falco Evo is a single-engine, twin-boom surveillance drone from Italy, built by stretching the wings and tail booms of the earlier Falco to 12.5 metres. Developed by Leonardo (Selex Galileo, later Selex ES).
See Specifications for full detail.
The Falco Evo is a long-endurance tactical surveillance drone built by Leonardo of Italy, which developed it while the company was still Selex Galileo. It is a larger version of the Falco, with the wingspan increased from 7.2 m to 12.5 m, and it first flew on 23rd July 2012.[1][2]
The Evo has served as an export and managed-service product. The United Nations has used Falco aircraft over the Democratic Republic of the Congo since 3rd December 2013, and Leonardo announced the first two Evo customers on 13th July 2016, both in the Middle East and Gulf region.[3][4]
The baseline Falco first flew in December 2003 at the Salto di Quirra range in Sardinia. It had a 7.2 m wingspan, a 420 kg takeoff weight, a single gasoline engine and a 70 kg payload, and Pakistan became its first export customer in 2007. Evo, short for evoluzione, was announced as a modified version in March 2009, with larger tail booms and wings.[1][2]
The change was made without altering the basic design. Selex Galileo said the Evo's wings are about 70 percent longer and its booms about 1 m longer, and that no major strengthening of the airframe was needed. Maximum takeoff weight went from 530 kg to 650 kg, payload from 70 kg to more than 100 kg, and endurance by more than 50 percent.[5]
The Evo is 6.2 m long and 2.5 m high, and weighs up to 650 kg at takeoff. Payload options listed by FlightGlobal include the company's Picosar, Gabbiano 20 and Osprey radars and its Sage electronic support measures system. The ground control station is shared with the baseline Falco, which allows mission planning, re-tasking in flight and handover between stations.[2][4][6]
Existing Falcos can be converted to Evo standard. Leonardo's Italian release describes a conversion kit of new wings, tail and booms, and FlightGlobal reported that the first two selections covered new-build aircraft. Air International reported in 2018 that Leonardo had introduced a heavy-fuel engine and a new data link, with further changes planned.[7][4][8]
Leonardo sells the Falco family in two ways. Some customers buy the aircraft and fly them, while others, such as the United Nations, buy a managed service in which Leonardo crews fly the drones and pass the information on. The UN contract was signed in 2013 for three years with two optional years, valued at 10 million euros a year, and operations from Goma began on 3rd December 2013.[9][10][3]
The Evo's first two customers were announced at Farnborough on 13th July 2016. Leonardo did not name them, saying only that they were existing Falco operators in the Middle East and Gulf region. The first new-build aircraft was completed in August 2017 and delivered to the launch customer that September, and was shown with a Gabbiano radar at the Dubai Airshow in November. Wikipedia reports that the Bangladesh Air Force bought three Evos in 2019 or 2020.[4][7][11][1]
Leonardo said that trials of the Falco at Lampedusa began on 4th December 2018 for patrolling the European Union's sea borders. On 23rd May 2019 an Evo took part in an emergency-response exercise on the island, with flights coordinated with the Guardia di Finanza and the Italian Interior Ministry and operated by Leonardo under a service arrangement.[8][2]
The armed Astore carries two Roketsan Cirit missiles, and the larger Falco Xplorer was unveiled at the 2019 Paris Air Show with a 1,300 kg takeoff weight and a 350 kg payload. The Evo's 6,000 m ceiling and 650 kg weight sit well below the medium-altitude long-endurance aircraft that Leonardo's own Xplorer is meant to compete with.[1][12]
The Leonardo Falco Evo has a top speed of 116 kn (134 mph / 216 km/h).
Yes, the Leonardo Falco Evo is still in service.
The Leonardo Falco Evo first flew on July 23rd 2012.
Operators include Leonardo, United Nations, Middle Eastern launch customer and Bangladesh Air Force.
The unit cost is Not publicly disclosed - Leonardo has not released a price, and several deals are sold as a managed service.
The Falco Evo is a military surveillance drone and does not normally show on Flightradar24. Leonardo-run flights, such as the Lampedusa maritime trials, are coordinated with Italian authorities and are not broadcast as public ADS-B.
| Performance | |
| Max Speed | 116 kn (134 mph / 216 km/h) |
|---|---|
| Service CeilingService Ceiling — The highest altitude at which an aircraft can still climb at a useful rate (typically 100 ft/min). Above it, the air is too thin to keep climbing meaningfully. Glossary → | 19,685 ft |
| Airframe & Weight | |
| Wingspan | 41 ft 0 in |
| Length | 20 ft 4 in |
| Height | 8 ft 2 in |
| WeightMTOW — Maximum Take-Off Weight - the heaviest an aircraft is certified to be at the start of its take-off run, including fuel, crew, payload and the aircraft itself. Glossary → | MTOW: 1,433 lb; empty weight not published |
| Power & Payload | |
| Engines | 1 x heavy fuel piston engine (make and power not published) |
| ArmamentArmament — The weapons an aircraft can carry: guns, missiles, bombs and rockets, whether mounted internally, on wing hardpoints, or in bomb bays. Glossary → | None on the Falco Evo, which is unarmed; the Astore variant carries two Roketsan Cirit 70 mm laser-guided missiles |
| Crew | 0 (remotely piloted from a ground control station) |
| CapacityPayload — Everything an aircraft is carrying that isn't the aircraft or its fuel: passengers, cargo, or weapons. Payload and fuel usually trade off against each other. Glossary → | Payload more than 100 kg (220 lb); endurance more than 20 hours; data link range 200 km (124 mi) or more, extendable by relay or satellite |
| Program & Service | |
| Manufacturer | Leonardo (Selex Galileo, later Selex ES) |
| Origin | Italy |
| First Flight | July 23rd 2012 |
| Service Entry | 2017 |
| Unit Cost | Not publicly disclosed - Leonardo has not released a price, and several deals are sold as a managed service |
| Combat Losses | None documented for the Evo in the sources checked |
3 notable events involving the Falco Evo, 2012 to 2017. Curated rather than exhaustive.
The Falco Evo made a 40-minute first flight from Cheshnegirovo air base in Bulgaria. An earlier report had expected the flight by mid-2010.
Leonardo-Finmeccanica announced at Farnborough that two Middle Eastern and Gulf customers, both existing Falco operators, had selected the Evo for new-build aircraft.
Two Jordanian-operated baseline Falcos were reported shot down near Daraa by Syrian MiG-23s on 15th and 16th June 2017. These were the earlier Falco, not the Evo.
| Falco (baseline) | The original tactical drone, first flown in December 2003 at Salto di Quirra in Sardinia. It has a 7.2 m span, a 420 kg maximum takeoff weight and a 70 kg payload, with endurance of 8 to 14 hours. Pakistan was the first export customer in 2007 and began local production at Kamra in 2008. |
| Falco Evo | The stretched version, with a 12.5 m wingspan, booms about 1 m longer and a 650 kg maximum takeoff weight. It carries more than 100 kg of payload, including Leonardo's Picosar, Gabbiano 20 and Osprey radars and the Sage electronic support measures system. A heavy-fuel engine and new data link were introduced around 2018. |
| Astore | An armed version based on the Evo, carrying two Roketsan Cirit 70 mm laser-guided missiles on underwing hardpoints. Its service ceiling is quoted above 7,000 m and its endurance above 16 hours. Wikipedia names the Bangladesh Air Force as the only confirmed user of armed Falco-family aircraft. |
| Falco Xplorer | A larger successor unveiled at the 2019 Paris Air Show, with an 18.5 m wingspan, a 1,300 kg maximum takeoff weight and a payload of 350 kg. Leonardo quotes more than 24 hours of endurance when fully loaded, and the design follows NATO STANAG 4671 airworthiness standards. |
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