Dassault Falcon 10X Service Entry Slips from 2027 to 2029

Dassault Aviation has pushed service entry of its flagship Falcon 10X to 2029, two years later than the target cited when the aircraft achieved first flight last month. Speaking yesterday during the company's half-year financial results press conference, chairman and CEO Éric Trappier alluded to the extended timeline to a more stringent regulatory environment that took effect in 2023 in the wake of the Boeing 737 Max debacle.

“Ever since the Boeing accidents, certification has become a more complicated matter,” Trappier said. “Here we have a completely new aircraft. There are new rules, new certification rules that did not apply on the 6X, for instance, and so we expect the process to take longer. We remain cautious, and we say—we’re after the first flight—say, 2029. You have to allow two and a half years, maybe, for certification.”

The 10X completed its first flight June 19 at Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport (LFBD), with test pilots Sébastien Dupont de Dinechin and Fabrice Dougnac conducting an initial evaluation of the aircraft’s handling qualities at 15,000 feet before retracting the landing gear and movable surfaces and climbing to 40,000 feet, where they accelerated to Mach 0.82 during the two-and-a-half-hour flight.

But just a month ago—right after the first flight—Dassault apparently was still hoping for type certification in 2027. Trappier’s latest comments indicate the certification campaign will now extend at least until late 2028 or early 2029.

Meanwhile, the test campaign is expanding. A second flight-test 10X iss nearing completion at Mérignac, and a third example fitted with a full cabin interior is planned to be used primarily for evaluating aircraft systems and cabin functionality. Dassault also noted yesterday that airfield pavements at its Istres flight-test center are being renovated to accommodate the 10X, which Trappier acknowledged is heavier than its Falcon predecessors.

Despite the schedule revision, Trappier expressed confidence in the program’s overall trajectory. “A lot of engineering and certification to come,” he said, “but the bulk of the work is behind us.” He also noted that Dassault is the only aircraft manufacturer to have flown an entirely new aircraft of this size in 2026.

Trappier offered no firm commitment that the 2029 certification timeline would hold. “We’ll get back to you when we have more developments,” he told reporters in Paris.

The 10X is powered by two Rolls-Royce Pearl 10X turbofans delivering more than 18,000 pounds of thrust, and features the NeXus avionics suite developed with Honeywell. The wide-cabin, ultra-long-range jet offers a range of 7,500 nm and a top speed of Mach 0.925.