Dassault is working toward a 2016 certification date for its much-anticipated super-midsize (SMS) Falcon business jet, said Olivier Villa, Dassault's senior vice president civil aircraft.
Launched in January 2008, the twin-engine SMS is intended to be the successor to the out-of-production three-engine Falcon 50.  Although the program is ramping up to full-speed development, Villa remained coy about SMS details and industry partners. He said Dassault will likely not release much further information about the project for two to three years. To date, wind-tunnel tests have been completed for the airplane's basic shape. The company now has around 250 employees working on the SMS at its design office in the Paris area, a number that will double between now and early next year as designers from Dassault's partners join the team.