March 2025
In today’s rapidly changing international environment, France can pride itself on having forged a truly autonomous defense capability. Our country has worked over decades to assemble armed forces equipped with the full gamut of nuclear and conventional military capabilities. These forces are supported by a highly effective and competitive domestic industrial base which, thanks to its expertise in strategic technologies, ensures that they enjoy the kind of practical autonomy without which a country lacks any genuine freedom of action, and hence any authentic sovereignty. Dassault Aviation has played a key role in this policy, which was put in place by Charles de Gaulle. As a result, today we are the only aircraft manufacturer and industrial architect in Western Europe capable of designing, producing, supporting and upgrading a combat aircraft from scratch, in collaboration with our French partners. Thanks to our years of experience, our skills base and our technological expertise, we have become the prime mover behind a number of ambitious programs at both French and European level.
The Rafale continues to enjoy outstanding sales in the export market, with 30 orders placed in 2024 and promising negotiations underway for more in 2025. We exceeded our delivery targets last year: as compared with a forecasted figure of 20 Rafales, we actually delivered 21 combat aircraft to our customers, of which 14 went to the French armed forces. On the design front, we have also been extremely busy, with the completion of work on the F4 standard, and the launch of the F5 and its companion UCAS. We are also continuing to press forward with the New Generation Fighter, the Falcon 8X Archange and the Falcon 2000 Albatros (which completed its maiden flight in 2024). All these programs will enhance the air defense capabilities of our country and its partners. In view of the international situation, we are ready to fast-track certain projects or launch new ones, should the French government request us to do so.
Falcon orders in 2024 totaled 26, with an uptick toward the end of the year. This bodes well for the future, even though it remains to be seen whether this trend will continue. With our finger, as ever, on market needs, we are currently in the midst of renewing our range. The ramp-up in production of the Falcon 6X is beginning to bear fruit. Development work on the Falcon 10X continues apace, with initial deliveries slated for the end of 2027. This too is an ambitious program, involving the launch of the largest Falcon yet.
In both our civil and military businesses, after-sales support is an area in which we have been investing heavily, emboldened by the strong export performance of the Rafale and the launch of the Falcon 6X.
In terms of our facilities, we are opening a brand new Dassault Aviation plant in Cergy, the first in over 50 years. This state-of-the-art facility will take over from its predecessor in Argenteuil. In a country that has lost half its industrial base in just a few decades, this is an investment of which we are extremely proud. The same applies to the buildings being constructed in Mérignac (as well as those scheduled for construction in Little Rock), which are involved in the development of the Falcon 10X.
These positive 2024 figures should not obscure the fact that we are still experiencing challenges when it comes to manufacturing. Like the rest of our sector, the supply chain shortcomings that prevented us from reaching our Falcon delivery target last year are still a concern. Our planning process requires constant fine-tuning, and we need to further strengthen coordination between our design and manufacturing teams. Our objective is to deliver 25 Rafales and 40 Falcon jets in 2025.
Our other priorities include: the ongoing integration and training of a large number of new recruits (some 2,400 in 2024); further expansion of the Make in India program, which is a precondition for future Rafale orders from the Indian government; digital transformation, based on 3DExperience and SAP solutions; the quality and, above all, the safety of our products.
In short, we are fortunate to be able to look forward to a future where we shall have an abundance of aircraft to design, manufacture and support. Despite today’s uncertain world, of this we can be sure. I am confident that Dassault Aviation will remain strong, that our long-standing working relationship with the French government will persist, and that the Dassault family, whose forebear founded the company and who are our main shareholders, will continue to place their trust in us.