Flown for the first time on 12 May 1958, the prototype Morane-Saulnier M.S.1500.01 Epervier (sparrow-hawk) was a two-seat cantilever low-wing monoplane, with a high glazed canopy for its two-man crew set close behind the single 522kW Turbomeca Bastan IV turboprop; its fixed conventional landing gear had cantilever main legs, the M.S.1500 was intended to meet an official Armee de I'Air requirement for a tactical reconnaissance and counter-insurgency aircraft for service in Algeria against the nationalist forces. A second prototype was built and tested, but no production orders were received.