Dassault Falcon 2000XLS Bizjets To Be Made in India

Falcon business jets will be manufactured outside France for the first time ever under a partnership between Dassault Aviation and Indian company Reliance Aerostructure, announced on Wednesday at the Paris Air Show. Under the deal, the joint venture company—Dassault Reliance Aerospace Ltd. (DRAL)—will assemble Falcon 2000LXS twinjets at a facility known as the Multi-modal International Cargo Hub and Airport at Nagpur (MIHAN) in the western state of Maharashtra, India.

Falcon 2000 fuselage and wing assembly will be transferred to the Northern India plant, and plans call for the first “Made in India” business jet to roll off the line by 2028. According to Dassault, the partnership “represents a significant step in advancing India’s aerospace manufacturing capabilities, while strategically integrating into the global aviation supply chain.”

Established in 2017, DRAL has been manufacturing Falcon 2000 nose sections since 2019 and has assembled more than 100 major subsections for this model thus far. Further, the DRAL facility will be designated as a center of excellence for Falcon business jets, including the Falcon 6X and 8X programs. This also marks Dassault Falcon’s first such center of excellence outside France.

“This new agreement…illustrates, once again, our firm intent to meet our ‘Make in India’ commitments and to contribute to the recognition of India as a major partner in the global aerospace supply chain,” said Dassault Aviation chairman and CEO Éric Trappier. “It marks the ramp-up of DRAL, in line with the strategic vision shared with our partner Reliance, which led to its creation in 2017 and is a testament to our unwavering belief in our future in India and serving India.”

Reliance Group founding chairman Anil Ambani added, “Our partnership with Dassault Aviation for manufacturing of Falcon business jets in India is a defining moment for the country, aviation industry, and the Reliance Group. This will help position India as a key force in the global aerospace value chain.”

DRAL said it will recruit several hundred engineers and technicians over the next decade to support its expanding operations in MIHAN. “This growth underscores Dassault Aviation’s deep commitment to strengthening India’s aerospace manufacturing ecosystem and advancing the nation’s emergence as a global center of excellence for high-precision aviation production,” the French company said.