Operating in an unpredictable environment in which taking a very long‑term view is key, our fundamentals are solid. Our strength lies in a unique development model and very loyal customers. We owe our longevity to our ability to envision the future and adapt to new challenges.
We play a key part in France’s national defense by supplying military aircraft, as well as by providing associated support. We have acquired strategic expertise in the design and management of a high‑performance and reliable air combat system. Fighter aircraft and their accompanying operational systems constitute the cornerstones of security and deterrence in the face of significant threats.
Dassault Aviation manufactures conventional combat systems. The export of military hardware is the exclusive prerogative of the French government, and is subject to a stringent system of regulatory controls.
Our dual civil‑military expertise means that we can count on markets with different business cycles, thus reducing our exposure to fluctuating economic conditions. Our civil and military jet aircraft are designed in the same department and manufactured in the same plants. The state‑of‑the‑art technology developed for military use also benefits our civil aviation business, which in turn generates innovations in terms of production and certification.
Dassault Aviation is the only aerospace group in the world that is still owned by the family of its founder, Marcel Dassault. This unwavering backing from our main shareholder ensures the stability of our management team: Eric Trappier is only the fifth CEO in a century. This enables us to take a long‑term view, which is a major asset in aviation where cycles stretch over decades: an aircraft may well stay in production for 25 years and remain in service for 40 years or more.
Our stability allows us to uphold the values that have driven Dassault Aviation’s success: technical excellence and innovation; a passion for aeronautics; quick strategic decisions; adaptability in the face of change; the determination to meet objectives; efficient management and competitiveness; and a human resources policy designed to attract and retain top talent.
Dassault Aviation takes a unique approach to sharing profits with its French employees, based on fair distribution: under special agreements, €170 million in profit‑sharing and incentive payments were redistributed based on 2023 financial results. €266 million in dividends were proposed to our shareholders at the Annual General Meeting on May 16, 2024. Dassault Aviation pays the bulk of its taxes in France: 83% in 2023, which represented a contribution of some €539 million to the public purse.
As an industrial architect and systems integrator, it is vital to be able to develop and implement cutting‑edge technologies, and to harness data. Dassault Aviation possesses this rare ability, making it a pivotal player in aerospace research and development in France and Europe, in both civil and military aviation.
Our commitment to innovation is evidenced by our R&D budget: €539 million in financed R&D and €483 million in self‑financed R&D. Our current development projects include the Rafale F4 and Export standards, the FCAS, Falcon 10X, Falcon 8X Archange, Falcon 2000 Albatros and drones.
Dassault Aviation is the only major French aerospace company to make the prestigious Leaders de l’innovation en France list. Published in 2023 by Les Echos newspaper and Statista, this ranking recognizes innovation in products and processes, as well as companies’ overall corporate commitment to innovation.
We are determined that business aviation continue to be a key driver in the decarbonization of the aviation sector. Our aircraft are ideally suited to the incorporation of innovations that help reduce CO₂ emissions. Our customers, most of whom are companies, are fully behind us in this approach. We are exploring a number of technological solutions, including Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), which we regard as highly promising: over its life cycle, SAF emits 80% to 90% less CO₂ than fossil kerosene. Our Falcons are already equipped to fly with SAF containing 50% non‑fossil fuel.
Right from the design stage and throughout their life cycle, we are actively reducing the environmental footprint of our aircraft. As part of France’s civil aviation research council (Corac), we are actively involved in a series of technology maturation projects aimed at achieving sustainability in aviation.
Since 2008, the Clean Sky 1 and 2 programs have enabled us to collaborate with some twenty major partners in seven European countries. We are continuing with our efforts in this area by heading up the Clean Aviation program’s Concerto project.
Sesar, a European joint‑undertaking devoted to improving air traffic management, has contributed to the development of our FalconEye system, which provides safe access to all airports in poor weather conditions, including those with limited technical resources.
We are exploring the use of artificial intelligence to enhance the operational performance of aviation, with a view to harnessing the full potential of the concept of collaborative combat. Our teams are involved in proof‑of‑concept research with academics and leading companies in the field.
We provide the project management and organizational expertise needed to ensure that all parties involved work together effectively in order to deliver complex programs that meet our customers’ evolving needs, on time and on budget.
We manage the entire life cycle of aircraft programs for our customers and partners. We add value through our ability to manage, coordinate and guarantee the ultimate efficacy of the systems delivered by the projects we lead.
Guarantor of the system’s underlying fundamentals and its development, we are responsible for assessing the technological challenges as well as the scope and sharing of tasks between partners.
Our approach to product design is focused on harnessing data. Deployed as part of combat bubbles, our future weapons systems need to enable humans to maintain their position at the helm of the decision‑making process, while ensuring operational performance in the midst of high‑intensity operations and in situations involving contested network conditions. This will be achieved by means of collaborative combat, automated systems based partly on AI, as well as adaptive and resilient system architectures.
The Rafale continues to surge ahead thanks to a combination of technological advances and user feedback. Its F3-R standard, launched in 2014, entered service in December 2019. The F4 standard, with its focus on connectivity and enhanced payloads, will be validated in 2027. The launch of the planned F5 standard, designed for collaborative combat, is currently underway.
The Falcon 6X, launched in 2018, received joint certification by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in August 2023.
The Falcon 10X was unveiled in May 2021. Delivery of the first aircraft will begin in 2027, following revision of the timetable.
The Falcon 10X is one of the two aircraft selected by the French defense procurement agency (DGA) in December 2022 for inclusion in a system design project aimed at developing a future maritime patrol aircraft to replace the ATL2.
The contract for the maritime surveillance Falcon Albatros (AVSIMAR) was officially announced in December 2020.
The Archange airborne strategic intelligence program was launched in December 2019. It will be based on the Falcon 8X jet, equipped with electronic warfare systems designed by Thales.
The nEUROn is the first stealth combat drone (UCAV) to date to be developed as part of a joint European program. Dassault Aviation is the lead partner in this program and the Rafale F5’s combat drone will be developed on the basis of this demonstrator.
The Future Combat Air System (FCAS) Phase 1B contract for R&T and overall flying demonstrator design commenced in March 2023. As prime contractor and architect of the New Generation Fighter NGF (Pillar 1), Dassault Aviation has brought together the manufacturing teams from all three partner countries at its facility in Saint-Cloud.
Our capabilities as a system architect draw on major digital technologies, ranging from 3D creation to big data. For more than forty years, we have been among the pioneers in this industrial revolution.
Ever since the revolutionary advent of 3D modeling, we have been investing in digital innovations. This was the crucible that forged Dassault Systèmes, our long‑standing partner. Our links with the world leader in Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions provide us with the expertise and methods needed to adapt these powerful technologies to our industrial activities. The new tools we are deploying also enhance our ability to look ahead and take a comprehensive view – from design through production, and right down to support and the user experience.
In 2018, the decision was made to transition to 3DExperience, Dassault Systèmes’ unified platform, which has replaced all existing PLM solutions used in our civil and military aircraft programs. The development of the new Falcon and future combat aircraft is taking place using this platform.
We are currently using the 3DExperience platform on Dassault Systèmes’ sovereign cloud as part of the European FCAS program, as well as to support the operational readiness of aircraft operated by the French armed forces. Our partnership with Dassault Systèmes is the first collaborative engineering solution designed specifically to meet the cyber requirements of defense programs. This represents a significant step towards the creation of a sovereign European cloud.
This approach involves using a shared digital model to coordinate everybody involved in the development of large airborne systems. Implemented as part of the ATL2 modernization project, this framework is currently being applied as part of the FCAS/NGF collaborative project and is being used for our new programs. The system digital model allows security and data sovereignty considerations to be incorporated very early in the process.
Big data is used to optimize support for our civil and military customers. It enables the deployment of management, analysis and decision‑making tools, based on strictly controlled and sovereign shared data. The digital twin of each aircraft replicates the various phases of its life cycle. This enables us to engage in predictive maintenance to improve the effectiveness of the support we provide and to maximize fleet availability.
Our ongoing efforts to enhance both our manufacturing processes and our production ecosystem are key to achieving the high levels of quality and competitiveness demanded by the global market. Our manufacturing system is focused on the adjustment of our supply chain and the expansion of our operations in India.
The 2016 contract for 36 Rafales has strengthened our 70‑year relationship with India thanks to an increased sharing of workloads and technologies, resulting in sustained benefits in terms of competitiveness. Since 2020, our Nagpur plant, located in the state of Maharashtra, has been producing Falcon 2000 front fuselage sections. The ramp‑up in production has resulted in the addition of a second 135,000‑sq.-foot production facility.
Dassault Aviation is helping to develop the Indian supply chain, by expanding its network of local partners. We have qualified major new Indian subcontractors, most notably Dynamatic (for the manufacture of the Falcon 6X T5 section fuel tank and the supply of primary parts) and Aerolloy, a subsidiary of the PTC Group (for development of a titanium foundry).
Supplier failures combined with a lack of industrial capacity, mainly with regard to aerostructures, have resulted in delays to production launches and missed manufacturing deadlines. To remedy this situation, we have made adjustments to existing organizational arrangements and put in place a centralized management system to implement corrective action plans, provide the necessary support to some of our subcontractors and expand our operations in India.
Our SAP production management system, used across all our plants, has improved our industrial performance and our responsiveness with regard to our supply chain.
We are pursuing investment in our industrial infrastructure, specifically in preparation for the introduction of the Falcon 10X: a building to house the 10X simulator, in Istres; a building devoted to wing box systems, in Martignas; and refitting of the buildings where final assembly and special projects will take place, in Mérignac. We are also continuing construction work on our new Cergy plant, which is slated for completion in 2024.