Development of the Falcon SST has been put on hold, but Dassault says it made substantial inroads in terms of the technology needed to create a supersonic business transport.

Dassault disclosed its plans to suspend work on the Falcon SST earlier this month citing problems finding a suitable powerplant for the supersonic jet. To sustain supersonic speeds without the use of afterburners remains the technical challenge to creating an economically viable supersonic business jet, which Dassault recognized immediately.

"Most aerospace industry observers expected this decision sooner or later anyway," said Charles Edelstenne, executive vice president of Dassault Aviation. "They knew we could not launch a new program, particularly in this pioneering category, without the assurance of having engines available that meet our criteria for thrust, fuel specifics, durability and other issues."

Edelstenne praised the Dassault engineers who brought the supersonic Falcon concept closer to reality.

"Aside from the engines, many technical issues were effectively and cleverly solved," Edelstenne said.

Dassault says it has laid a solid technical foundation upon which efforts toward a supersonic business jet can be resumed at any time - once the thorny engine problem is solved.

For example, Dassault was able to: - Determine its overall size, configuration and flight controls
- Rationally set its mission parameters (4,000 nautical miles at 1.8 Mach)
- Verify design assumptions through Computerized Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and in wind tunnels
- Take all Falcon SST systems at least through the initial design stage, including the complicated fuel, landing gear and environmental systems
- Propose a unique ovoid (pear-shaped) fuselage that is both structurally and spatially efficient
- Work out many structural details using a mixed composite-titanium primary structure

Economic progress includes opening discussions with potential program partners, gaining feedback from potential users, and the investment of more than $5 million (all self-financed) into the technology.

Dassault says its investment in the Falcon SST has generated knowledge that will be useful in other areas, and assuming that a supersonic business jet will be inevitable at some future point, Dassault is neatly poised to take the leadership position.