Dassault Falcon 7X With Longer Fuselage

French Dassault airframe is expected to launch a stretched version of its Falcon 7X in Business Aviation Convention and European Fair in May 2014.

According to a source close to the program , the plane - likely to be called the 8x - will be around 1 m ( 3.2ft ) longer than the 7X .

Original Dassault Falcon 7X

The aircraft will have a range of about 6,500 nm (12,000 km). Dassault plans to replace the 7X , the source said that although the company is aware that the new model could cannibalize sales of trijet - whose airframes delivered a record 43 aircraft last year.

The Falcon 7X entered service in 2007 as a business jet Dassault flagship . During the following years , however, Gulfstream and Bombardier have launched big rivals and competitors cabin - the long-range G650 and Global 7000 and 8000 , respectively.

Dassault hopes to address these competitors with its new higher range jet , called either 9X or 10X . The plane - based on the new 5X launched last November - could be revealed in about three years , says the source.