Dassault Aviation's all-new Falcon 10X has successfully completed its first flight, demonstrating the programme's maturity and marking the launch of the flight test campaign.

“This inaugural flight is another milestone for Dassault,” shares chairman and CEO Eric Trappier. “It is a reflection of the dedication and high skill of our engineering, production and flight teams, and also the quality of our global network of partners. All of us are excited to see this day as we launch into a new phase for the 10X.”

Test pilot Sébastien Dupont de Dinechin and copilot Fabrice Dougnac took off from runway 23 at Bordeaux-Mérignac at 1110 for a two-hour and 30-minute flight. The pilots evaluated handling qualities and systems at 15,000 ft, then retracted the landing gear and all movable surfaces before climbing to 40,000 ft, where they accelerated to Mach 0.82. They returned to Bordeaux-Mérignac for a smooth landing at 1340.

“Today's flight was the culmination of years of work by thousands of Dassault employees and partners,” comments de Dinechin. “It paid off in a flight that went as planned and was a delight to fly.”

The first aircraft will be soon followed into the air by a second test aircraft nearing completion and by a third that is being outfitted with a full interior and will be used mainly for systems and cabin functional and reliability testing.

Dassault Aviation is the only aircraft manufacturer in the world to have a completely new aircraft in flight in 2026. Dassault's dual expertise in civil and defence is a long-term strength for the company.

Rolls-Royce's Pearl 10X engines successfully powered the first flight of Dassault's brand-new flagship aircraft

Philipp Zeller, senior vice president Dassault, business aviation, Rolls-Royce, says: “We congratulate the Dassault team on this important milestone. Seeing the Falcon 10X taking off for the first time, powered by our Pearl 10X engines, makes all of us at Rolls-Royce proud and serves as yet another testament to our market-leading position in the strategically important ultra- and very-long-range business aviation market.”

The Pearl 10X is the latest and most powerful member of the Pearl engine family and the first Rolls-Royce engine ever to power a Dassault Aviation business jet.

So far, the engine has undergone an extensive development programme, both on the ground and in the air. Overall, the programme has now successfully accumulated more than 4,000 testing hours, both on the Advance2 demonstrator and the Pearl 10X engine configuration. This included a comprehensive flight test campaign on Rolls-Royce's Boeing 747 flying testbed. During the six-month campaign and more than 25 flights, the engine flew a distance of 36,000nm, which would have taken the aircraft around the entire globe one and a half times.

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. It features a new ultra-low emissions ALM combustor, which is compatible with 100 per cent SAF, and a new accessory gearbox, which allows for higher aircraft power extraction.

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 close to the speed of sound.