Dassault has expanded its Falcon family to include the Falcon 2000EX. The French manufacturer says it will offer 25 per cent greater range - 3,800 nautical miles at Mach 0.8, with six passengers - while maintaining or improving the other performance qualities that have driven the success of the Falcon 2000.

A spokesman said: "This improved performance is due to a new powerplant - two PW308C jets totalling 7,480 pounds of thrust - and increased fuel capacity. FAA and JAA certification are planned for the second half of 2002, with customer deliveries starting in the first quarter of 2003."

Meanwhile, hailed as a 'step change in business aircraft flight safety', Dassault is to launch the "New Millennium Flight Deck". Said the spokesman: "The new man-machine interface features an intuitive, interactive graphics interface that makes both flying and system management much easier. Using a sophisticated data fusion function, pilots get a continuous flow of vital 'tactical' information.

At the same time, the NMFD enhances maintainability."

The New Millennium Flight Deck is built around four large-format colour liquid crystal displays by Honeywell, used in conjunction with Dassault's proprietary software.

First flight of the NMFD is slated for late 2001, on a Falcon 900EX test-bed, with deliveries starting in the year 2003.