Dassault Aviation SA

PAR:AM

Dassault Aviation is a French aircraft maker best known for two very different businesses: military combat jets and private business jets. On the defense side, it designs and builds the Rafale fighter for governments and armed forces. On the civil side, it makes the Falcon family of business jets for companies, private owners, and charter operators that need long-range aircraft for executive travel. The company makes money mainly by selling aircraft, then keeps earning from spare parts, maintenance, upgrades, and technical support over the life of each plane. That service work matters because both fighter jets and business jets stay in use for many years and need regular upkeep, software updates, and modernization. Its customers are usually governments, defense ministries, and high-end corporate aviation buyers, which makes the business more specialized than a typical airline supplier. What sets Dassault apart is that it sits at the intersection of defense and premium aviation. It is not a mass-market plane maker; it builds a small number of complex aircraft with heavy engineering content and long customer relationships. That gives it a business model built around design expertise, long-term support, and close ties to buyers who care about performance, reliability, and mission capability.