Dassault Keeps Falcon 10X Entry Into Service at 2029, Cites Supply Chain and Public Perception Headwinds

At NBAA-BACE, Dassault Aviation Chairman and CEO Eric Trappier said the Falcon 10X remains on track for entry into service in 2029, after delivery guidance was recently pushed back by two years. Dassault showed its 6X and 8X models on the static display at Henderson Executive Airport and held a press conference at the Las Vegas Convention Center on Tuesday.

The second 10X prototype made its first flight on Sept. 24, three months after the first airframe flew on June 19. Two more aircraft, with finished interiors, are scheduled to begin flight testing in 2027. The program has logged approximately 30 flights and 100 hours, with pilots running flight envelope, systems and avionics testing. The Rolls-Royce Pearl 10X engines are expected to certify in 2027, two years ahead of the airframe.

Dassault also announced that the EASy IV flight deck, standard on the 6X and 8X, will be fitted to the production Falcon 2000LXS, and it is offering an EASy IV retrofit for earlier Falcon 2000-series aircraft, planned by 2029. EASy IV brings faster processing, crisper displays, 2D and 3D airport moving maps, new Jeppesen chart functions and a next-generation flight management system with RNP approach capability, and it integrates with the FalconEye combined vision system. Trappier said it modernizes the existing fleet and enhances aircraft value.

Trappier said supply chain problems are improving but not everything has stabilized, and he pointed to the Middle East crisis and the war in Ukraine. He also named public perception of business jets' environmental impact, especially in northern Europe, as a challenge. Dassault's response is a commitment to sustainable aviation fuel: the 10X will be able to fly on 100% SAF. He acknowledged SAF costs operators more but suggested supply and demand dynamics should bring costs down as volumes rise. He cited global flight activity growing by 3.5% a year.

On defense, Trappier described Dassault's order book as strong. The French Navy is the customer for 12 Albatros maritime patrol aircraft, and three Archange intelligence aircraft are for the French Air and Space Force, with deliveries running through 2028. Uncertainty remains in parliament, where the government is pushing a €54 billion spending-cut package in the 2027 budget, and a presidential election follows in April 2027.

Holding a 2029 date after a two-year slip is a statement about program control as much as schedule. In large-cabin, long-range jets, a flagship that is years from delivery leaves the OEM exposed on two fronts: customers deciding whether to wait, and in-service aircraft whose value is tied to how current they feel. Putting the EASy IV flight deck into the 2000LXS and offering it as a retrofit to earlier 2000-series aircraft speaks to the second front, turning avionics into a way to defend residual values across the installed fleet while the new model matures.

The sustainability message follows the same logic. Business aviation's environmental image is a commercial issue in some European markets, and an OEM that can say its newest aircraft flies on 100% SAF is addressing the perception directly. The cost gap Trappier acknowledged is real for operators, so the commitment matters most if SAF volumes grow enough to narrow it.

The next concrete markers are the ones the program has already set: the 2027 start of flight testing for the two interior-equipped aircraft and the Pearl 10X engine certification, two years ahead of the airframe. On the defense side, the 2027 budget package and the April 2027 presidential election are the dated events that bear on French spending.