Engines
Engine Choice Still Up in the Air for Falcon SMS
Dassault Aviation CEO Charles Edelstenne on Friday made it clear that all design choices for its next Falcon business jet, a super-midsize aircraft codenam

Dassault Aviation CEO Charles Edelstenne on Friday made it clear that all design choices for its next Falcon business jet, a super-midsize aircraft codenamed SMS, have been reopened–including the engine. Rolls-Royce had been selected two years ago to supply 10,000-pound-thrust-class RB282s for the new Falcon. It now appears that even such a key decision is being questioned. “In our design process, Phase A is that of outlines and architecture. It was to end early this year. However, at this time, we saw we had not met our [economic and technical] goals. Therefore, I elected to prolong Phase A to the end of the year,” Edelstenne said. “Everything is open, including the choice of the engine. If you give yourself too many constraints, you cannot reach your targets.” A Rolls-Royce spokesman later insisted his company has a strong business partnership with Dassault. “We continue to work with them on future program requirements,” he said, adding that the RB282 concept is “sound” and that Rolls-Royce is satisfied with the engine’s developmental progress.