Falco Xplorer

Falco Xplorer overview

Falco Xplorer is Leonardo's large, remotely piloted multi-sensor surveillance aircraft for persistent land and maritime intelligence. Its proposed mission system combines electro-optical surveillance, radar, and signals-intelligence equipment and passes information through secure satellite links to command centers beyond the aircraft's immediate line of sight. Unlike the armed MALE aircraft often grouped with it, Leonardo publicly markets the Xplorer primarily as an unarmed strategic surveillance platform.

Leonardo claims more than 24 hours of endurance and a payload capacity of up to 350 kg. Those figures describe the manufacturer's intended system and should not be read as independently verified fleet performance. Maximum speed, range, ceiling, dimensions, maximum take-off weight, and customer-specific sensor combinations are Not publicly disclosed in a stable public data sheet. The Xplorer is an evolution of the Falco family, but specifications from Falco EVO cannot safely be substituted for it.

The aircraft was unveiled at the 2019 Paris Air Show and first flew in January 2020. Leonardo subsequently used European Defence Agency demonstration activity and customer engagement to mature the design, while public reporting through 2026 continued to describe it as a high-endurance surveillance offering rather than a widely fielded system. No complete operational operator list is confirmed, so the profile separates prototype milestones from service status.

Armament

Unarmed in the publicly described configuration; modular ISR payloads

Development and operational timeline

1. Jun 2019Leonardo unveils Falco Xplorer at the Paris Air Show as a persistent multi-sensor surveillance RPAS
2. Jan 2020Falco Xplorer prototype completes its first flight
3. Nov 2021Leonardo and European partners use the system in reported multi-sensor and beyond-line-of-sight demonstration activity
4. Dec 2025Leonardo continues Falco Xplorer demonstrations and export marketing; broad operational service remains unconfirmed
5. Sep 2026As of September 12, 2026, no complete public customer and in-service fleet record has been released