In 1984, the French MoD launched a programme to equip the Armée de l'Air with a modern and reliable Signal and Comint (SIGINT/COMINT) collection aircraft to replace the six heavily modified Noratlas aircraft. Two C-160s were taken from the transport inventory, being F216 and F221. These became resp. C-160G-1 and C-160G-2 , both modified with a radome containing a COMINT espionage system under the belly of the aircraft, two pods at wingtips containing the ELINT systems and four antennas on top of the nose. From 1989 the first spionage C-160, now named Gabriel, became operational. Assigned to Escadron Electronique Aéroporté (EEA) 1/54 "Dunkerque"

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