The Commonwealth of Australia has taken delivery of the first of three very long-range Dassault Falcon 7X trijets it has acquired for government VIP service. The other two aircraft, to be operated by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), will be handed over in the following months.

The VIP units are being delivered with the latest connectivity solutions, intended to provide seamless access to high-speed broadband data anywhere in the world.

The 5,950nm Falcon 7X can fly from Canberra to any point in Asia nonstop or link Canberra to Washington or London in one hop. It can land on short and challenging runways and operate across a wide range of environmental conditions, including extremely hot and humid and dry desert climates.

Dassault notes that Australia has been a key market for the Falcon for almost half a century. The company’s first business jet, the Falcon 20, entered commercial service ‘Down Under’ in 1967, two years after its entry into service. The Falcon 20 served in the RAAF’s transport and utility wing for 22 years before being replaced by the Falcon 900. The five-aircraft Falcon 900 fleet remained in operation through the early 2000s.

More than 120 Falcon aircraft, including over 50 Falcon 7Xs, are currently flying with public and private operators in Australia and other Asia Pacific countries.