To deal with the health crisis linked to COVID-19, Dassault Aviation has made two Falcon business jets available to the French Defense Ministry as part of the Operation Resilience intended to supply logistics and medical support for civilian corona virus control activities.
The first mission, involving the two aircraft, took place on Sunday, April 5. It brought a team of 26 doctors and other medical personnel from Brest, Brittany back to Paris. The team had accompanied COVID-19 patients to Brest on a special medical train.
The two Dassault aircraft, a Falcon 8X and a Falcon 900, are equipped for 15 and 13 passengers, respectively. They are operated by Dassault Falcon Service (DFS), a subsidiary of Dassault Aviation specializing in maintenance and flight operations, based at Le Bourget airport. DFS also supplies the flight crews.
Depending on the requirements defined by government authorities, one or both of the Falcon aircraft can be made available to the Resilience unit of the French Air Force’s Air Defense and Air Operations Command (CDAOA). Capable of landing at small airports in all weather conditions and without the need for ground infrastructure, the aircraft enable medical teams and equipment to be dispatched quickly across France and throughout the world.