TM.11 Brujo, the Spanish Falcon military plane whose mission was not to transport politicians

@DefAviation ES 1·13·2024 · 21:57 0

One of the most famous aircraft of the Spanish Air Force today is the Falcon, for its work transporting members of the government.

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This work is currently carried out by five Dassaul 900Bs, in service since 1988. However, this model was not the first Falcon used by the Spanish Air Force to transport personalities.

In 1970, the then known as Dassault-Breguet Mystère 20 arrived in Spain, a model later renamed as Falcon 20. A total of five aircraft were received:

• T.11-1 (cn 253): Later re-registered as TM.11-1. It was a Falcon 20E. It arrived in Spain in 1970, receiving the civil registration EC-BZV. Later it flew with different numbers: 401-02, 45-02 and 47-21. It was removed from service in November 2015. He ended up stationed at the Air Base Torrejón, without rudder or engines. In 2020 it was donated to a vocational training center in Albacete.
• T.11-2 (cn 222/471): Later reregistered as TM.11-2. It was a Falcon 20D. It arrived in Spain in April 1971, receiving the civil registration EC-BXV. Later it flew with different numbers: 401-03, 45-03 and 47-22. It was removed from service in May 2015. He ended up stationed at the Air Base Torrejón, without engines, like the TM.11-1. In 2021 it was donated to a vocational training center in Lugo.

• T.11-3 (cn 219/470): Later re-registered as TM.11-3. It was a Falcon 20D. It arrived in Spain in December 1971, receiving the civil registration EC-BVV. Later it flew with different numbers: 401-04, 45-04, 408-11, 47-23 and 472-03. It was removed from service in December 2020. It was donated to the School of Industrial and Aerospace Engineering of the University of Castilla-La Mancha. Now it is in a square of the Toledo technological campus, located in the old Royal Weapons Factory.
• T.11-4 (cn 332/525): Later re-registered as TM.11-4. It was a Falcon 20E. It arrived in Spain in December 1971, receiving the EC-ECTV civil registration. Later it flew with different numbers: 401-05, 45-01, 408-12, 47-24 and 472-04. It was removed from service in December 2020. It is currently in the Air Museum in Cuatro Vientos.
• T.11-5 (cn 475): It was a Falcon 20F. It arrived in Spain in September 1988. It flew with the number 45-05. It was withdrawn from service in March 2003 and sold a month later to the US company Garrett General Aviation Services, which registered it as N475EZ. Currently flying with the Mexican company Servicios Aereos Milenio S.A., with registration XA-YUR.

These aircraft were initially assigned to 401 Squadron, renamed in 1987 as 451 Squadron and since then part of the 45 Air Force Group. Its mission was to transport members of the government. They sported a white decoration with a red stripe on their fuselage, the livery still worn by the 45 Group planes.

After the arrival of the new Falcon 900, in 1994 two of the Falcon 20 (the TM.11-3 and the TM.11-4) were assigned to 408 Squadron, being assigned to evaluation missions of surveillance and control means at the Getafe Air Base. That same year the unit was transferred to the Torrejón Air Base.

In 2004, the 47 Joint Air Force Group was created, bringing together the two Falcon 20s of the 408 Squadron and the other two aircraft of this type (the TM.11-1 and the TM.11-2). that were still in service in the new 472 Squadron. These four Falcon 20s received the radio callsign "Brujo" and were assigned to radio aid calibration, remote sensing and electronic warfare training missions.

The first two Falcon 20 that arrived in Spain (the TM.11-1 and the TM.11-2) were retired from service in 2015. With the withdrawal of these two aircraft, the 47 Group ceased their radio aid calibration missions. The two remaining aircraft, the TM.11-3 and the TM.11-4, lost their white and red decoration and were painted gray, and have since been dedicated to reconnaissance and electronic warfare missions. The last two Falcon 20 of the Air Force were retired in December 2020.

Yesterday, Fly By Wire Aviation published a video showing the Falcon 20 TM.11-4, with callsign Brujo 01, which is currently in the Cuatro Vientos Air Museum. The plane still sports the antennas used in its electronic warfare missions on its fuselage:

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Main photo: Ejército del Aire. The TM.11-4 when operated by 472 Squadron.