After freezing the Falcon 6X design in May, Dassault now says its super-midsize jet program is well into the manufacturing phase and on track to complete assembly of the first aircraft by early next year. First flight is scheduled for 2021, with deliveries expected to start in 2022.

“Work is going full throttle at the Biarritz facility, where the aft section of the 6X fuselage is assembled,” the company said. “Later this fall, the complete fuselage will be delivered to Bordeaux-Mérignac for final assembly.”

Fuselage-panel production is at Dassault’s facility in Argenteuil, France, while wing-panel manufacturing is at Seclin. At some production sites, including final assembly in Mérignac and cabin completions in Little Rock, Arkansas, “engineers and manufacturing teams are currently working together in satellite plateaus anticipating work in subsequent production and testing phases,” the company said.

Meanwhile, the Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) PW812D engine that will power the 6X has accumulated more than 1,000 hours on a P&WC test bench in Montreal using five development engines. “The PW812D engine program continues to achieve milestones in line with the initial program plan,” Dassault Aviation chairman and CEO Eric Trappier said in May.