Dassault Falcon 10X Rolled Out in Bordeaux Ahead of First Flight

Dassault Aviation rolled out the first Falcon 10X on 10 March 2026 at its final assembly site at Bordeaux-Mérignac in south-west France. The ultra-long-range jet is the largest business aircraft the French manufacturer has built and the first all-new Falcon since the 6X. With the rollout complete, the prototype moved into the final stage of ground testing ahead of its maiden flight.

The 10X was launched in May 2021 with a planned service entry at the end of 2025. That date had already slipped by the time of the rollout, and Dassault was then aiming for service entry in 2027, with certification by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Specifications

Dassault's published figures for the 10X are summarised below.

Item	Falcon 10X
Range	7,500 nm (13,890 km) at Mach 0.85
Maximum operating speed	Mach 0.925
Maximum altitude	51,000 ft
Engines	2 x Rolls-Royce Pearl 10X, more than 18,000 lb thrust each
Cabin length	16.40 m (53 ft 10 in)
Cabin height	2.03 m (6 ft 8 in)
Cabin width	2.77 m (9 ft 1 in)
Cabin volume	78.7 m³ (2,780 cu ft)
Cabin windows	38
Passengers	Up to 19

The largest cabin in its class

The cabin cross-section is the main selling point. At 2.03 m high and 2.77 m wide, it is taller and wider than the cabins of the Gulfstream G700 and Bombardier Global 7500, its two main rivals, by several inches in each dimension. Dassault describes it as the largest cabin of any purpose-built business jet, a category that excludes converted airliners such as the Boeing Business Jet and ACJ. The extra width allows Dassault to offer larger seats, a queen-size bed in the aft suite and up to four separate living zones.

The 10X also brings Dassault's NeXus flight deck, with touchscreen displays and a single "smart throttle" lever that controls both engines. Like the 7X, 8X and 6X before it, the aircraft uses digital fly-by-wire flight controls, a technology Dassault carried over from its Rafale fighter. The wing is built entirely from carbon composite, a first for a Falcon.

The Rolls-Royce Pearl 10X is the most powerful engine in the Pearl family. Rolls-Royce completed its test programme and submitted the certification data to EASA in August 2025. Dassault states that the aircraft is compatible with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF); current regulations allow blends of up to 50%, and Rolls-Royce has tested the Pearl 10X on 100% SAF.

The ultra-long-range market

The 10X enters the top segment of the business jet market, which has been a two-way contest between Gulfstream and Bombardier. Gulfstream's G700 (7,750 nm) entered service in 2024 and the G800 (8,000 nm) followed in 2025. Bombardier's Global 7500 (7,700 nm) has been in service since 2018, and its Global 8000 (8,000 nm) entered service at the end of 2025.

On range, the 10X sits slightly behind all four. Dassault is competing on cabin size, speed and its reputation for fuel-efficient aircraft rather than outright range. The 7,500 nm figure still covers most of the long intercontinental city pairs that drive demand in this class. The list price has been reported at around $80 million before the cabin is fitted.

For buyers, a third manufacturer in this segment means more choice and potentially more pricing pressure at the top of the market, where order books at Gulfstream and Bombardier have meant waits of several years for new aircraft.

Path to service entry

Dassault planned a three-aircraft flight test fleet. The first aircraft was to open the envelope and test handling qualities, a second was nearing completion at the time of the rollout, and a third would be fitted with a complete production cabin for function and reliability testing.

What has happened since

• 19 June 2026: the first Falcon 10X made its maiden flight from Bordeaux-Mérignac, about three months after the rollout. Test pilots Sébastien Dupont de Dinechin and Fabrice Dougnac flew for two and a half hours, climbing to 40,000 ft and reaching Mach 0.82.
• July 2026: at Dassault's half-year results, chairman and CEO Éric Trappier said service entry had moved to 2029. He attributed the two-year slip to tougher certification requirements introduced since the Boeing 737 MAX accidents, which did not apply when the Falcon 6X was certified.
• 24 September 2026: the second prototype, registered F-WTEN, made its first flight from Mérignac, a flight of about three hours.

Dassault has published the details of the maiden flight in its first flight announcement.