The Falcon 10X will enter service at the end of 2025, with the biggest and most comfortable cabin on the market, and multiple interior configurations. Large windows and pure air will be popular with passengers.
Dassault Aviation has announced an all-new Falcon jet that it says will deliver a level of comfort, versatility and technology unmatched by any purpose-built business jet.
Featuring a range of 7,500 nm, the Falcon 10X will fly nonstop from New York to Shanghai, Los Angeles to Sydney, Hong Kong to New York or Paris to Santiago. Top speed will be Mach 0.925.
“Today we are introducing a new benchmark in business aviation,” says Dassault chairman and CEO Eric Trappier. “The Falcon 10X will offer an unrivalled passenger experience over both short and long duration flights, along with breakthrough safety features from Dassault’s frontline fighter technology. We have optimised every aspect of the aircraft with the passenger in mind and established a new level of capability for ultra long range aircraft.”
The Falcon 10X will enter service at the end of 2025.
The 10X will have the biggest and most comfortable cabin on the market and offer greater modularity than any other aircraft in its class, with a selection of multiple interior configurations. The 10X is large enough to accommodate four cabin zones of equal length but owners can configure their cabin to create a truly customised interior, including for example an expanded dining/conference area, a dedicated entertainment area with a large screen monitor, a private stateroom with a queen size bed or an enlarged master suite with a private stand-up shower.
“The 10X will be more than just another big step forward in business aviation. It will be absolutely the best business jet available in the ultra long range category and will remain so for a long time,” Trappier adds.
The 10X will have a cabin cross section larger than some regional jets. Its cabin will be six-feet, eight-inches (2.03 m) tall and nine feet, one inch wide (2.77 m). That will make it almost eight inches (20 cm) wider and two inches (5 cm) taller than the widest and tallest purpose-built business jet flying today.
Pressurisation will also be the best on the market, with passengers experiencing a 3,000 ft cabin pressure altitude while flying at 41,000 ft. A next-generation filtration system will provide 100 per cent pure air. The aircraft will be at least as quiet as the Falcon 8X, currently the quietest business jet in service.
The 10X will feature an entirely new fuselage with extra-large windows, nearly 50 per cent larger than those on the Falcon 8X. Thirty-eight windows will line the fuselage, making for the brightest cabin in business aviation.
The high-speed wing will be made of carbon fibre composites for maximum strength, reduced weight and minimum drag. Tailored for speed and efficiency, the very-high aspect ratio wing will be equipped with advanced, retractable high-lift devices offering superior manoeuvrability at low approach speeds.
The twin-engine aircraft will be powered by business aviation’s most advanced and efficient engine, the in-development Rolls-Royce Pearl 10X. The 10X is the latest, largest and most powerful version of the Pearl series, delivering more than 18,000 pounds of thrust.
The Falcon 10X’s flight deck will set a new standard in intuitive design, with touch screens throughout the cockpit. A next-generation digital flight control system, derived directly from Dassault’s latest military technology, will provide an unprecedented level of flying precision and protection, including a new single-button recovery mode.
A single smart throttle will serve as the primary power control, connecting both engines to the digital flight control system, which will automatically manage the power of each engine as needed in different flight scenarios.
Thanks to Dassault’s FalconEye combined vision system, the first to offer both enhanced and synthetic vision capabilities, combined with dual HUDs able to serve as primary flight displays, the 10X will be capable of operating in essentially zero ceiling/visibility conditions.
“We have set the bar for our new Falcon incredibly high,” Trappier confirms. “But I can confidently say that we have put this aircraft at the top of the market.”
With more than 3,600 business jets powered by Rolls-Royce engines in service, the OEM is the world’s leading engine supplier in this market. Its Pearl 10X is the newest member of the state-of-the-art Pearl engine family and the first Rolls-Royce engine ever to power a business jet of the famous French airframer.
The Pearl 10X features the Advance2 engine core, the most efficient core available across the business aviation sector, and combines it with a high-performance low-pressure system, resulting in a superior thrust of more than 18,000 lbs. Compared to Rolls-Royce’s last generation of business aviation engines the Pearl 10X offers a five per cent higher efficiency, while delivering outstanding low noise and emissions performance. The result is an engine that offers a market-leading combination of power and efficiency. This combination will enable customers and operators to have premium airport accessibility and fly ultra-long-range connections whilst also being able to travel nearly as fast as the speed of sound.
It brings together innovative technologies derived from the Rolls-Royce Advance2 demonstrator programme and proven Pearl family features to deliver world-class environmental performance. This includes a highly-efficient blisked fan; a high pressure compressor with a market-leading pressure ratio and six blisked stages; an ultra-low emissions combustor; a two-stage shroudless high pressure turbine as well as an enhanced four-stage low pressure turbine that is one of the most efficient and compact in the industry. This suite of technologies is all housed together within a brand new, ultra-slimline nacelle from Spirit AeroSystems.
The engine is being developed at the Rolls-Royce Centre of Excellence for business aviation engines in Dahlewitz, Germany, and is currently undergoing a comprehensive test programme, which includes the capability to operate on 100 percent sustainable aviation fuels.
One of the new key features of the Pearl 10X will be 3D-printed combustor tiles, manufactured by an advanced additive layer manufacturing process. This pioneering technology, which supports the exceptional environmental performance of the engine, has been developed and extensively tested as part of the Advance2 programme.
Rolls-Royce president of civil aerospace Chris Cholerton comments: “This is a very special day for Rolls-Royce and the dedicated Pearl team, which has been passionately working behind the scenes to make this programme a reality. We are extremely proud that Dassault has chosen us to power its flagship Falcon 10X, and I would like to congratulate the Dassault family as well as the Falcon team on this special occasion. Today marks the start of a successful partnership and, with our pioneering Pearl 10X engine and leading customer service, I look forward to supporting Dassault as it continues to impress its customers in the ultra-long-range corporate jet market.”
Trappier adds: “The Pearl 10X is perfectly matched to our performance requirements for our new, ultra-long-range jet and proved itself to be the best solution also for reliability and efficiency. New technologies within its core and its digital controls make it the benchmark for powerplant technology in this business aviation segment. Moreover, Rolls-Royce’s track record for product support ensures an outstanding customer service experience.”
Designed for outstanding reliability, the Pearl family is supported by Rolls Royce CorporateCare Enhanced, the most comprehensive service programme in business aviation. CorporateCare Enhanced offers substantial financial and operational benefits to customers, increasing asset value and liquidity, mitigating maintenance cost risk and protecting against the unforeseen costs of unscheduled events anywhere in the world. Increased aircraft availability, reduced management burden, full risk transfer, direct priority access to the Rolls-Royce services infrastructure and remote site assistance are further customer benefits.
The Pearl engine family is part of the Rolls-Royce Intelligent Engine vision of a future where product and service become indistinguishable thanks to advancements in digital capability. As well as a new-generation engine health monitoring system that introduces advanced vibration detection, the family benefits from the incorporation of advanced remote engine diagnostics. It is also enabled for bi-directional communications, allowing for easy remote reconfiguration of engine-monitoring features from the ground. Cloud-based analytics, smart algorithms and artificial intelligence continue to play an increasing role in delivering exceptional levels of availability and greater peace of mind for customers.