Civil Products Emphasis Increases Dassault Revenues

Dassault's mid-1990s policy of increasing its proportion of civil aircraft business, has proved highly successful, with significant revenue growth from business aircraft sales. Some 73% of its $1.5 billion revenues in the first half of last year resulted from business jet orders, compared with 68% in 1999, and 45% earlier. Output has grown to about 70 Falcons per year, and production is being boosted to a record eight aircraft per month.

Dassault's mostly tri-turbofan line of business jets range extends from the typically equipped $18.8 million Falcon 50EX and $21.13 million twin-engine Falcon 2000 at the bottom end, through the $28.65 million Falcon 900C, to the $31.9 million Falcon 900EX. The 900EX's maximum NBAA IFR range of 3,413 nmi is exceeded only by Bombardier's Global Express and Gulfstream GIV-SP and GV, among current production aircraft.

Further range capability is planned by Dassault from its latest Falcon 2000EX project, designed to extend the 2000's mission reach by 25% to 3,800 nmi. With the same airframe, the 2000EX will replace its two 5,918-pounds-thrust CFE 738 turbofans by 7,000-pounds-thrust Pratt & Whitney PW308C powerplants, and will carry 3,800 pounds more fuel in extra fuselage fuel tanks. Maximum take-off weight will increase by 4,900 pounds, to 40,700 pounds.

Cabin length will be reduced by 6.6 feet, but the 2000EX will have a cruise endurance with six passengers of more than 11 hours, with NBAA IFR reserves.

From development started in October 1999, a Falcon 2000EX prototype will fly later this year. Agreement has already been signed by Executive Jet, Inc. for 25 2000EXs with Dassault's revolutionary new EASy flight-deck, with options for 25 more, to serve the company's NetJets fractional ownership operation. DGAC and FAA certification is planned for late 2002, with a target basic $24 million sales price at 2003 values. Recent Falcon deliveries have included three of four specially equipped Model 50 SURMAR maritime surveillance versions for the French navy.

On the purely military side, a potential conflict in export marketing between the Eurofighter and Rafale fourth-generation combat aircraft programs is presented by EADS' new partnership in both these major projects. EADS inherited 45.76% of Dassault Aviation from its incorporation of Aerospatiale MATRA, and 42% of the Eurofighter program, from its CASA and DASA components. Joint-venture negotiations now in progress between EADS and Finmeccanica on a 50/50 basis, if successful, will increase Eurofighter involvement by the proposed European Military Aircraft Company to 62.5%, of which EADS will obviously have half.

Dassault has acknowledged that some competition in fighter markets is unavoidable, and both types are already in head-to-head contention in Greece. With effectively a majority shareholding in Eurofighter, however, EADS has the luxury of being able to tailor its fighter bids to the medium or upper ends of the market, according to the relative prosperity of the country concerned. Official French CPRA figures show that overall program cost of its planned 294 Rafales will be some 200 billion FF (US$26.9 billion), including 45 billion francs for R&D, or 680 million FF (US$91.44 million) for each aircraft. This is claimed by the CPRA to be 20% less than its estimated 820-million-FF (US$110 million) program unit cost for Eurofighter.