In a landmark move at the Paris Air Show, Dassault Aviation and Reliance Infrastructure’s subsidiary, Reliance Aerostructure Limited (RAL), announced a strategic partnership to manufacture Falcon 2000 business jets in India for global markets. This collaboration marks a significant leap forward for India's aerospace industry, positioning the country among an elite group that includes the U.S., France, Canada, and Brazil in producing next-generation business jets.

For the first time in its history, Dassault Aviation will manufacture its Falcon 2000 jets outside France. The final assembly line will be set up in Nagpur, Maharashtra, through their joint venture Dassault Reliance Aerospace Limited (DRAL). This facility will also become the first Center of Excellence (CoE) outside France for the Falcon series, including the Falcon 6X and Falcon 8X programs.

Eric Trappier, Chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation, remarked, “This agreement reinforces our commitment to ‘Make in India’ and underlines India’s emerging role in the global aerospace value chain. Establishing the Falcon assembly CoE in India marks a new phase for DRAL, aligned with the vision we’ve shared with Reliance since 2017.”

Anil D. Ambani, Founder Chairman of Reliance Group, called the partnership a milestone for the group and a strong endorsement of the Government of India’s ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ and ‘Make in India for the World’ initiatives. “The Made-in-India Falcon 2000 will stand as a symbol of India’s world-class technological and manufacturing capabilities,” he said.

As part of the expanded collaboration, Dassault Aviation will also transfer the assembly of the front section of Falcon 8X and 6X jets, along with the wing and fuselage assembly for the Falcon 2000, to DRAL. Facility upgrades are already underway, aiming for the first Falcon 2000 jet to be fully assembled and flown from Indian soil by 2028.

Since its inception in 2017, DRAL has delivered more than 100 major Falcon 2000 sub-assemblies from its Nagpur facility. With this new mandate, DRAL is expected to hire hundreds of engineers and technicians in the coming years, further contributing to the growth of India’s aerospace manufacturing ecosystem.

This strategic development not only reinforces India’s standing in the global aerospace industry but also responds to growing demand for high-performance business jets in both domestic and international markets.