Maiden flight and long range, Dassault’s Falcon 10X sharpens the ultra?luxury jet race

Reviewed: ad hoc news B2B & Pro desk. Edited and checked on 2026-06-20, 06:21. Details in the imprint.

When the Falcon 10X lifts off from Bordeaux-Mérignac for its maiden flight, Dassault Aviation’s new flagship finally swaps glossy renderings for the raw sound of jet thrust and retracting landing gear. Two and a half hours later, the big twin is back - and the race in ultra?long?range business jets feels different.

What the first flight shows

The maiden flight of the Falcon 10X lasted around two hours and 30 minutes, climbing first to about 15,000 feet to check handling and systems before heading to 40,000 feet and accelerating to roughly Mach 0.82. From the outside that sounds routine; for Dassault engineers in the cabin, every vibration and instrument twitch mattered.

The jet took off from runway 23 at Dassault’s Bordeaux-Mérignac site with a dedicated test crew evaluating fly-by-wire responses, landing gear retraction and the behavior of its new high?lift wing. For a clean?sheet aircraft in the most demanding corner of business aviation, a calm first sortie is a very solid sign.

Cabin that feels like a loft

The Falcon 10X is designed around range and space: Dassault targets about 7,500 nautical miles at long?range cruise, enough for Paris to Tokyo or New York to Dubai without a fuel stop. In practice that means a long, uninterrupted cabin where the outside world quietly shrinks to moving map dots.

Dassault promises the widest cabin in its class, with large windows and a flat floor throughout, more in line with a minimalist city loft than a squeezed tube. Operators will be able to carve it into up to four zones - office, lounge, dining and a private suite with full?size bed and shower if they wish.

Engines and tech details

Power comes from two Rolls-Royce Pearl 10X engines, developed specifically for this aircraft and already cleared for its first flight program. They are designed to combine high thrust with lower fuel burn and compatibility with sustainable aviation fuel blends.

In the cockpit, Dassault brings across its latest flight deck philosophy from the Rafale fighter and other Falcons, including advanced fly?by?wire, head?up displays and an emphasis on workload reduction for small crews. Pilots should feel less like systems babysitters and more like mission managers.

Where it aims to beat rivals

On paper, the Falcon 10X squares up to Gulfstream’s G700 and Bombardier’s Global 7500, both already flying wealthy owners and charter guests around the world. Dassault goes on the offensive with cabin width, range and the promise of lower approach speeds for shorter runways.

The manufacturer also leans heavily on comfort, targeting a low cabin altitude and quiet acoustics even at high cruise. If the numbers hold in service, passengers stepping off a 14?hour sector should feel less wrecked than on older designs.

Price tag and operators

Dassault has not trumpeted an official list price in every release, but market estimates place the Falcon 10X firmly in the top tier, well north of 70 million US dollars per aircraft depending on options and interior fit. For typical buyers - corporations, governments, ultra?high?net?worth families - this is less toy and more flying boardroom and residence.

The jet is aimed at global operators that need nonstop reach with small groups: think C?suite teams, heads of state, or charter providers selling quiet privacy at five figures per hour. For them, every hour saved versus a refueling stop can justify the capital outlay.

Availability and next steps

With the first flight now complete, the Falcon 10X enters a multi?year test and certification program, with Dassault previously guiding towards entry into service around the second half of this decade. The exact date will hang on flight test findings and regulatory pacing.

For now, the aircraft is a home?market reality in France rather than a catalog option on German dealer sites. European and global customers are already lining up through Dassault’s own sales channels, long before the first green airframe reaches a completions center.

Company context and share reference

For Dassault Aviation, the Falcon 10X sits alongside the smaller Falcon 6X and the established 8X as the new flagship at the very top of its civil range, complementing its Rafale fighter and defense activities. The group is trying to turn decades of combat?jet know?how into a quieter, more profitable civil workhorse.

Shares of Dassault Aviation (FR0000121725) trade on Euronext Paris; recent quotes put the company firmly in the mid?cap bracket among European aerospace names.

This article was AI-assisted and editorially reviewed. Product information without guarantee; prices and availability may change at short notice. No investment advice, no buy or sell recommendation. Stock-market transactions involve risks up to total loss.