Japanese coast guard orders Falcon 2000 MSA maritime surveillance jets

Photo: Dassault Japanese Coast Guard (JCG) has selected the proposed Dassault Falcon 2000 Maritime Surveillance Aircraft (MSA) to enhan...

Photo: Dassault

Japanese Coast Guard (JCG) has selected the proposed Dassault Falcon 2000 Maritime Surveillance Aircraft (MSA) to enhance its maritime surveillance capability.

The purchase will help Japan to augment its maritime surveillance fleet amid tensions with china over the disputed Senkaku islands in the East China Sea

The Falcon 2000 MSA is based on the Falcon 2000 LXS business jet which has a range of range 4000 nautical miles. The MSA is designed for a broad range of missions including maritime surveillance, piracy control, drug interdiction, fishery patrol, law enforcement, search and rescue, intelligence and reconnaissance. It offers the best combination of size, payload, speed, range and acquisition and operating costs on the market.

The MSA is the unarmed version of the Dassault Falcon 2000 maritime reconaisance aircraft (MRA). It features:

• A very long range multimode Air-to-Surface radar with dedicated air-to-sea modes,
• A retractable Electro-Optic turret (FLIR), providing a 360° coverage.
• Communication suite, including a SATCOM.
• Multi-function workstations with automatic analysis functions, equipped with color displays.

The Falcon 2000 MSA will be powered by two PW 308C engines with 7,000 lbs thrust each. Each engine is monitored by dual channel Full Authority Digital Electronic Control (FADEC), allowing the best efficiency and minimum fuel consumption, during each segment of the mission.

Japan has successfully operated Falcon jets for maritime surveillance and search and rescue around the Japanese archipelago since 1989.

Current Japanese coast guard maritime surveillance fleet include the Falcon 900 and Gulfstream jets.