Dassault Aviation revealed details of its long-awaited SMS jet today at the NBAA Convention, along with a new name: the Falcon 5X. Development of the jet, which will be powered by two Snecma Silvercrest engines, is well under way, with first flight scheduled for the first half of 2015 and entry-into-service two years later.
Key features of the 5X include a wide cabin and new wing. It will also have a fly-by-wire flight control system that, for the first time in a Falcon, also incorporates spoiler and air brake control, while new flaperons are introduced to aid high-speed roll-control and low-speed lift augmentation.
Although the aircraft will come in at around $45 million and the Falcon 7X will remain as Dassault’s flagship business aircraft, the French manufacturer said the 5X would likely form the baseline for the next-generation of Falcons, including an aircraft with a size and range greater than the 7X to compete with new large jets from Bombardier and Gulfstream. It suggested that this follow-on model could be the 8X, since the number eight is a lucky number in China.
A full-size cabin mockup of the Falcon 5X is being displayed this week at the NBAA static park at Henderson Executive Airport in Las Vegas.