Dassault Aviation has put a second Falcon 10X into the flight-test fleet. The second prototype, powered by Rolls-Royce Pearl 10X engines, made its first flight from Bordeaux-Merignac on 24 September 2026, and AIN confirmed the milestone on 7 October. Aerobuzz reported the same first flight three days after it happened, and said Dassault plans to use three Falcon 10X aircraft for flight test and certification work.
The company did not issue a standalone press release on the day. FlightGlobal, as reprinted by Defense Presswire on 5 October, says the news arrived in Dassault's regular Falcon Flightline email. The Falcon Flightline note was six words long and said a second aircraft is now flying. That report says the second aircraft has joined the lead prototype at Istres air base in the south of France. Flight tracking in the same report showed three sorties by early October.
The first prototype flew on 19 June 2026 from the same Merignac runway. Dassault Falcon's own release that day named test pilot Sebastien Dupont de Dinechin and copilot Fabrice Dougnac. They flew for two hours and 30 minutes. They climbed to 40,000 feet and reached Mach 0.82. That release also said a second test aircraft was nearing completion. A third would carry a full interior for systems and cabin work. Aerobuzz places the second first flight about three months after the first.
FlightGlobal's reporting describes a steady campaign, with the lead aircraft flying about three test missions a week. Each lasts around four hours as the team takes the aircraft to higher speeds and altitudes. The highest speed recorded so far is Mach 0.85, which Dassault presents as the long-range cruise speed for the type.
That pace matters because the calendar has already moved. On 23 July, AIN reported that Dassault had pushed Falcon 10X service entry from 2027 to 2029. Chief executive Eric Trappier cited stricter standards for all-new aircraft designs. FlightGlobal's July headline put the same slip down to tighter certification rules after the 737 Max. The 2029 target appears again in the October reporting on the second prototype. For buyers who were planning on late 2027, the extra airframe does not pull that date back.
The aircraft itself is aimed at the top of the cabin market. Dassault Falcon's June release puts range at 7,500 nautical miles at Mach 0.85. Cabin width is 9 feet 1 inch and height is 6 feet 8 inches. It seats up to 19 passengers in three or four zones. The Pearl 10X engines are rated at more than 18,000 pounds of thrust each. The design uses a composite wing and a new digital flight-control set. That set includes a single Smart Throttle for both engines, plus automatic recovery and terrain-avoidance modes.
A second flying prototype does not bring delivery dates forward by itself. It does let Dassault split the test work across two airframes while the cabin-equipped third aircraft is prepared. Fleet managers watching ultra-long-range lead times now have two flying airframes instead of one.
We would treat 2029 as the planning date until Dassault publishes a firmer certification calendar. For an owner or operator waiting on a large-cabin delivery, the gap is still measured in years, not months. When we arrange ACMI or wet lease cover for that wait, we would ask how long the bridge needs to run. We would also ask whether the client wants the same cabin class throughout.
Sources: ainonline.com, defensepresswire.com, aerobuzz.fr, dassaultfalcon.com, ainonline.com