Dassault Aviation will showcase the ultra long range Falcon 8X at this year’s edition of Wings India, India’s biggest civilian aviation exhibition. It will be the first appearance of the 6,450 nm/11,945 km trijet at this prestigious event, which opens on March 8 at Hyderabad Begumpet Airport.
The inaugural Falcon 8X presentation comes just as Dassault is introducing into the market a new ultra widebody twinjet, the Falcon 6X. Unveiled on February 28, the 6X will be the most modern, spacious and versatile twin in the 5,000 nm segment and will draw on many of the advanced features of the 8X, in particular its ultra quiet cabin.
The first Falcon 8X was handed over to an Indian customer early last year and is now in operating in all major markets, including the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, Brazil and China as well as India.
With 26 Falcon aircraft currently in service, Dassault is the large cabin market leader in India, where the company has long enjoyed a strong brand image, in part thanks to the Indian Air Force’s long reliance on Dassault combat aircraft. A relationship that dates all the way back to 1953 and has continued without interruption ever since, culminating in 2016 with the IAF’s acquisition of a batch of 36 frontline Rafale fighters.
The relationship received a further boost last October when a joint-venture created by Dassault Aviation and Reliance Aerospace Limited broke ground on a new production plant in Nagpur, Maharashtra. To be ready by the end of 2018, the facility will manufacture parts and component subassemblies for the in-production Falcon line and then move on to assemble Falcon as well as Rafale fighters.
All Falcons, and in particular late generation models like the Falcon 8X, 7X and 6X, draw on Dassault’s extensive experience with combat aircraft – a heritage unique among business jet manufacturers. Falcons also benefit from the advances in fighter aerodynamics, structural design, digital flight control and man-machine interface, keeping them on the cutting edge of executive aircraft technology.
“The unmatched ability of Falcons to combine short and long haul flights and fly out of short hard-to-reach airstrips with full range performance – even at high altitudes and extreme temperature conditions – make them perfect for Indian operating conditions. No other business jet line is more suited to local requirements,” said Dassault Aviation Chairman/CEO Eric Trappier.
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