Aircraft
Dassault Rolls Out First Falcon 5X; Set To Fly This Summer
Entry into service was once pegged for mid-2017, but engine snag could cause delay of up to eight months.
Dassault rolled out the first Falcon 5X prototype on June 2, 2015, at its Bordeaux, France factory before an audience of about 500 people. First flight of the 5,200-nm twinjet is pegged for summer 2015. (Photo: Dassault Falcon)
Dassault rolled out the first Falcon 5X prototype on June 2, 2015, at its Bordeaux, France factory before an audience of about 500 people. First flight of the 5,200-nm twinjet is pegged for summer 2015. (Photo: Dassault Falcon)

Dassault unveiled the first prototype of the 5,200-nm Falcon 5X twinjet at its factory in Bordeaux, southwest France, on June 2 and is preparing to fly the aircraft this summer. Because of the development delay announced in March, Snecma now expects the Silvercrest engine will be certified in the summer of next year. Early last month, Dassault CEO Eric Trappier said, “We are targeting 2017 for certification, and then 2017 or early 2018 for entry into service.” That schedule would see deliveries starting about six months later than originally anticipated.