“The contract with Centreline, placed by Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) – the MoD's procurement arm – includes the purchase of two Dassault 900LX aircraft and two years of initial support, plus three option years if required,” the ministry said, adding, “ Dassault 900LX was successful in this competition as the standout candidate in performance, cost value, and time requirements”.Īs noted by the MoD, the aircraft will be initially operated by a mixed crew of civilian and RAF personnel, and will be upgraded with missile jamming systems and military communications to deliver the full capability when crewed by RAF personnel.īased at RAF Northolt in north London, 32 Squadron (The Royal) previously operated two BAe 146 C2s in the fixed-wing VVIP role (with two more BAe 146 C3s configured for tactical transport duties), until the type was retired in March 2021. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced a GBP80 million (USD109 million) order for two Falcon 900LX aircraft for 32 Squadron (The Royal) on 8 February, noting that the tri-jets will be provided by Bristol-based Centreline under a GBP80 million (USD108 million) contract. The United Kingdom has selected the Dassault Falcon to replace the recently retired BAe 146 aircraft operated by the Royal Flight of the Royal Air Force (RAF). 22–23.The Dassault Falcon 900LX will replace the now-retired BAe 146 in the VVIP role for the UK. “Dassault’s Growth Reflects Aviation Industry Potential.” Arkansas Business. (accessed February 15, 2022).ĭassault Aviation & Dassault Falcon Jet Corporation. Dassault Falcon remains one of Arkansas’s largest private employers.Īrkansas Aerospace & Defense Alliance. In 2015, it was reported that about 1,850 people worked at the Little Rock site. The site employed more than 2,000 people in 2009, when a recession forced layoffs. Service center operations include Dassault engineering airframe and engine maintenance avionics installation and upgrades interior modifications and refurbishments repair of composite structural component repairs exterior refurbishment (including custom exterior design presented with color renderings) European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and Brazil Repair Station certifications airframe repair and pre-purchase evaluations. The site provides around-the-clock support for its Falcon customers. In 2015, a 350,000-square-foot expansion was completed, bringing the facility to 1.25 million square feet. A new service center was completed in 2008, containing about 145,000 square feet of hangar and back shop space. The Little Rock site is a well-equipped and efficient facility for the company, offering completion and service centers. The Little Rock site is the largest of the four Dassault Falcon Jet locations in the United States and the company’s sixteen locations worldwide. Workers finish the interiors and paint the exteriors of corporate jets. The Little Rock site became Dassault Falcon Jet’s main completion center. These remodeled Falcons were used as target tows and simulators for the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force. In 1985, Falcon Jet Little Rock modified some of the former FedEx freighters for a British company called Flight Refueling. At this time, the site was a 61,500-square-foot hangar and office facility. Dassault Falcon Jet hoped the Little Rock site could become the nucleus of its production and completion operation. Dassault cited Little Rock Airmotive’s extensive experience in completing and modifying Falcon jets and Little Rock’s base of a highly skilled workforce in cabinetry, carpentry, leather, and upholstery as its motive for purchasing the facility. In 1975, Smith decided to relocate FedEx to Memphis, Tennessee, and sold the Little Rock Airmotive completion center to Dassault Falcon Jet, a company formed by Pan-Am and Dassault in 1972. Smith acquired the company Little Rock Airmotive and began using the site as a completion and modification center for a fleet of 33 Falcon 20s to be used as FedEx cargo planes. In 1971, FedEx founder Fred Smith purchased a company called Arkansas Aviation Sales that was located at the site of the current completion center. Falcon jets are manufactured in France and then flown into the Little Rock site at Adams Field near the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport for painting of exteriors and installation of optional avionics and custom interiors. The company’s Little Rock (Pulaski County) site houses both completion and service centers for Dassault Aviation, Dassault Falcon Jet’s parent company based in Paris, France. The Dassault Falcon Jet Corporation is one of Arkansas’s largest private employers and is largely responsible for the state ranking eleventh in the nation in annual aviation exports.
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