SAINT CLOUD, France - Dassault Aviation has initiated the termination process of its contract with Safran for the supply of Silvercrest turbofan engines to power Dassault's Falcon 5X business jet. This will result in the end of the Falcon 5X program. Dassault has instead launched a new Falcon program, with a targeted service entry date of 2022.

Dassault Aviation chairman Eric Trappier said, "There is still a strong market need for a brand-new long-range aircraft with a very large cabin, so I have decided to launch a new Falcon project powered by Pratt & Whitney Canada engines, featuring the same cross-section as the Falcon 5X, a range of 5,500 nautical miles, and scheduled to enter into service in 2022."

Dassault said that delivery of compliant Silvercrest engines was originally planned for late 2013 in accordance with the Falcon 5X flight test schedule, adding that Safran met recurrent technical issues during program development. Dassault noted that, in 2015 and 2016, major technical issues led Safran to announce a new schedule leading to engine delivery for the Falcon 5X flight tests by the end of 2017. Consequently, Dassault postponed service entry of the 5X from 2017 to 2020. The company said that this delay caused customer concerns and order cancellations (12 cancellations in 2016).

Equipped with a preliminary version of the Silvercrest engine, the Falcon 5X performed its maiden flight in July 2017, and began a preliminary flight test campaign. Dassault said, however, that in the fall of 2017, Safran experienced issues with the high-pressure compressor and informed Dassault of an additional delay and new performance shortfall, making the 2020 entry into service impossible.

Dassault said that, considering the magnitude of the risks involved on the technical and schedule aspects of the Silvercrest program, it has initiated the termination process of the Silvercrest contract and plans to start negotiations with Safran.

Source: Dassault Aviation