Rolls-Royce hinted at a size increase for the still-under-wraps Falcon SMS super-midsize business jet, revealing it received a higher thrust requirement from Dassault for the RB282 engine that will power the twinjet. Until now, Rolls-Royce was talking about a 10,000-pound-thrust engine. “The aircraft manufacturer and we are looking at the size of the aircraft and the size of the engine,” Ric Parker, Rolls-Royce’s director of research and technology, told AIN. He admitted that Dassault and the engine maker are not moving at full speed but insisted this is “a joint decision.” A spokesman said the two companies remain in the “joint feasibility phase.” Pressed about what appears to be slow progress since engine selection was announced in June 2007, Parker said studies have advanced at the expected speed, but “people had a bit of a rethink; they started asking themselves, ‘Is this the right answer?’ So they pushed studies further.” The Falcon SMS will replace the out-of-production Falcon 50EX as an entry-level Falcon and will have fly-by-wire controls.