Dassault Aviation’s Falcon 10X — designed to be the largest dedicated business jet in the world — completed its first flight on June 19 at Bordeaux-Mérignac, France, moving the program a step closer to certification. Test pilots Sébastien Dupont de Dinechin and Fabrice Dougnac flew the aircraft for two hours and thirty minutes, evaluating handling and systems at 15,000 feet before climbing to 40,000 feet and reaching Mach 0.82.
Dassault unveiled the first Falcon 10X publicly on March 10, 2026, meaning the program moved from unveiling to first flight in roughly three months. The company is targeting certification and entry into service in 2027, and two additional test aircraft are being readied for the certification campaign, with one fitted with a full interior for cabin and systems validation.
The 10X is a clean-sheet design, not a derivative — Dassault built it as a 100-percent new airframe, with a new high-aspect-ratio composite wing produced at a dedicated facility in Anglet, France. Power comes from two Rolls-Royce Pearl 10X engines producing more than 18,000 lbs of thrust each. On the performance side, Dassault is targeting a 7,500 nautical mile range and a top operating speed of Mach 0.925 — enough to connect city pairs like New York–Shanghai or Los Angeles–Sydney nonstop.
The cabin is the real headline. Dassault cites a cabin volume of 2,780 cubic feet and a 53-foot, 10-inch cabin length, with a width and height Dassault says beat every competing business jet. The 10X is positioned to compete directly with the Bombardier Global 7500/8000 and Gulfstream G700/G800 — the top tier of the ultra-long-range large-cabin market.
On the systems side, the aircraft uses a Digital Flight Control System with automatic recovery from unusual attitudes, automatic terrain avoidance, and automatic windshear recovery, along with a single “Smart Throttle” controlling both engines — flight-deck technology Dassault has drawn from its military background.
Why It Matters: The 10X’s first flight is a real technical milestone, not incremental — Dassault is the only manufacturer flying a completely new aircraft in 2026. For a market segment increasingly defined by ultra-long-range, large-cabin competition between Dassault, Bombardier, and Gulfstream, this is the moment the 10X program shifts from paper specs to flight-test data.
Source: Dassault’s Falcon 10X Makes Maiden Flight — Dassault Falcon official press release
Image: Dassault Aviation
