Good afternoon. Thank you for attending this presentation of the half-year financial statements for H1 2025. As usual, we will start with a video showing you the highlights of H1 2025. The Falcon 2000 LXS Albatros completed its maiden flight on January 24th in Mérignac. This is a key milestone in the AFSMR program, which aims to renew the French Navy's fleet of surveillance and intervention aircraft. The seven aircraft ordered by the French Ministry of the Armed Forces will be delivered from 2026. They should be followed by an optional batch of five more aircraft. With cutting-edge equipment and systems, the Albatros will be a valuable asset for the French Navy's missions, including search and rescue, fisheries enforcement, and the fight against pollution and trafficking.
Éric Trappier unveiled the first Rafale produced for the UAE Air Force in the presence of the French Minister of the Armed Forces and the UAE Minister of State for Defence Affairs. This aircraft will be used by the Dassault Aviation Flight Test Center to develop the UAE Rafale standard. Produced as per the contract schedule, this first aircraft demonstrates Dassault Aviation's commitment to meeting its customers' expectations. Rafale deliveries to the UAE will begin in late 2026. On January 30th, Éric Trappier received the Strategist of the Year Award from French Prime Minister François Bayrou. Created in 1989, this award honors a business leader selected by the readers of the newspaper Les Échos and a jury of French industrial and economic leaders. Dassault Aviation was part of IDEX in February in Abu Dhabi, UAE. We also participated in the Aero India exhibition.
Two one-fifth scale models of the Indian Air Force Rafale C and the Rafale Marine were exhibited at the stand. The Dassault Group won the 38th edition of the Course du Cœur, a key effort to raise awareness about organ donation and transplant. It's a sports challenge as well as a strong and inspiring human experience. India signed a deal to buy 26 Rafale Marine fighters on the 28th of April in New Delhi. Outside France, India will be the first country to use Rafale Marine aircraft. This deal shows the Indian authorities' satisfaction with the aircraft's capabilities and their desire to broaden the spectrum of its operational use. It proves once again that the Rafale is a key instrument of national sovereignty.
It demonstrates our commitment to meeting the operational needs of the Indian forces for the past seven decades and our determination to operate in India as part of the Make in India policy and the Skill India initiative. In early June, Dassault Aviation and Tata Advanced Systems Limited signed four production agreements for production transfer agreements to manufacture the Rafale fuselage in India. This is a milestone ensuring of India's aviation capabilities. Production of the first fuselage sections is expected in 2028 in the cutting-edge site in Hyderabad. During French President Emmanuel Macron's state visit to Jakarta late May, the French Minister of the Armed Forces and his Indonesian counterpart signed a letter of intent for the purchase of Rafale aircraft in addition to 42 jets already ordered.
On June second, General Christian Baptiste, National Delegate of the Order of Liberation, and our CEO, Éric Trappier, unveiled the silver slipcase decorated with the Liberation Cross containing the list of companions of the liberation. This unique case was purchased during a public auction entitled De Gaulle: A Legacy for History, held in Paris with the support of Dassault Aviation and the Friends of the Museum of the Order of the Liberation. This year, again, Dassault Aviation participated in Rêves de Gosse , a make-a-wish aerial tour that treats children with disabilities to a once-in-a-lifetime flight experience. For 26 years, we have partnered with Les Chevaliers du Ciel , the nonprofit that organizes this event. The 55th edition of the Paris Air Show was a great success. There was a huge turnout both during the trade days and at the weekend, which was open to the public.
This edition was inaugurated by the Prime Ministe François Bayrou visited our aircraft stand, showcasing aviation career options. Many ministers and personalities also visited our facilities. The French President visited the show on Friday. He spent a lot of time in our battle lab, which showcased our expertise in collaborative combat. The future of combat aviation was given pride of place at our first-ever static display of the combat drone, which will team up with the Rafale aircraft in about 10 years. The Rafale demonstrated its outstanding flight performance in the hands of Captain Jean-Brice Millet, call sign MIMOUS. Every day, French Air and Space Force pilots fly Rafale aircraft that sport the colors of the French flag: blue, white, and red. This is a source of pride for everyone at Dassault Aviation, but also our partners and the general public.
Rafale is a tremendous success, and the stand showcases that. More than 500 aircraft have been ordered. This is an operational and a technical achievement. It's also a commercial success. Its commercial and industrial success requires manufacturing capabilities, and this is excellent news for our 400 contractors and for all SMEs across the country. We must manage the ramp-up. We must manage the increase in workload, and it's not that easy. I know that the entire company is all hands on deck. The area dedicated to military support showcased the many innovative solutions that we provide our customers. During his address at the Paris Space Hub, the President also announced the launch of our Vortex project. An agreement to support the development of the space plane demonstrator was then signed by the Minister of the Armed Forces, the head of the DGA, the French Defense Procurement Agency, and our CEO.
In line with its mission in national aviation sovereignty, Dassault Aviation contributes to the development of strategic capabilities to address new challenges in the space economy. I've been speaking about the space plane for many years, and today, with support from public authorities and our army of Dassault engineers, we're moving back into the space sector, which is our first love. Making a space plane, making a small space shuttle, will generate future solutions for space mobility. This return to the space sector is a really good thing to all of us because, unfortunately, there are threats in space as well. As shown by today's conflicts and over and beyond launchers and observation satellite constellations, we will need to go into space, both for defense and civilian missions. We will need to colonize space. We need to have the ability to fly there and come back.
What you see behind me is a small, crude space plane, and eventually, it will go into space, come back, and land on a near strip. Dassault Aviation's capabilities are well-known when it comes to flight controls and the ability to maneuver in the atmosphere and ultimately in space. Aerodynamics is also key for atmospheric re-entry and landing on a near strip. You also need to integrate large systems, and we've learned how to do that. We believe that our expertise will help us to set up a European team. Will help us to create possibilities for Europeans and maybe other countries outside Europe as well. Dassault Aviation's space projects have also received the support of the European Space Agency. During the show, the company signed an MOU with AMIAD, the French Agency for AI in Defense, regarding R&D in several user cases on the air combat front.
In the civil area, Dassault Aviation's static display featured a Falcon 6X, a Falcon 8X, and the full-scale model of the cabin of the upcoming Falcon 10X. As they did for the Rafale, the crowd was treated to flight demonstrations by our 6X test pilots, Cédric Carre and Antoine Dussault. . These Falcon aircraft can carry out a whole range of dual-use missions, combining civil and military aspects. Among these special Falcons, we have mission-specific Falcons. We have maritime surveillance Falcon aircraft, which we have already sold to Japan and which must now be delivered to the French Navy. We have the 8X for electronic warfare, which the military can't wait to get, which has many intelligence-gathering features. We even have a firefighting Falcon to fight against forest fires. This is still a project that has yet to be contractualized. We think it's a good idea.
It's important to adapt because we make these aircraft one at a time, so to speak. Things are challenging from an industrial standpoint, and we have other work besides. We are making progress in these projects and in delivering these projects mostly to the French Armed Forces. Many announcements were also made at the show. Dassault Aviation and Reliance Infrastructure Limited also signed an agreement to manufacture Falcon 2000 LXS for the global market in India. The company signed a new agreement to support the military reserve. Dassault Aviation gives its reservist employees 20 days of paid leave per year for their military reserve duties. Our company was also present at the Paris Air Lab with innovative presentations in the fields of design and production, which were a huge hit with young people.
Like our recruitment stand, which highlighted the need to increase female representation among our workforce, we must hire more people. When the workload increases, we must also replace those leaving the group. Many of our team members are retiring, and we want to bring in more women because of the potential they represent. It's challenging, so we must take special care to show that women are happy at Dassault and that young girls and young women can truly be part of the aviation industry. Dassault, in particular, faces this challenge because we cannot fulfill our contract obligations and clear our impressive order intake without sufficient capabilities in HR. This is a long process because we must be able to recruit and do it well. After people are recruited, we must also train them well within the company. It's not just about having degrees and abilities or skills.
It's about sharing between the older and the younger generations. The Dassault Aviation of the future is here. It's starting today. These young people aren't just going to learn the right things to do and the right formulas from the old generations. They will contribute their skills to a society, to a society that is increasingly digital. With the advent of artificial intelligence and new technologies, the younger generation also has a huge contribution to make. Their background is important to the company's future. Dassault Aviation ranks third in the aerospace, rail, and naval category in Statista's 2025 ranking of France's 500 best employers. We've been one of the top 10 preferred companies among students and recent graduates for the last 10 years.
The company is also in the top five of the Universum in France ranking across all sectors and in the top three of the EPICA ranking for the industrial sector.
Bien, on évolue. We're evolving in a context that you're already familiar with in terms of geopolitical issues in Ukraine, heightened tensions in the Middle East, and indeed a war in the Middle East. Defense budget is expected to increase, a statement by the President confirmed by the Prime Minister, subject to approving a budget and to see how it'll be used and indeed approved by Parliament. Of course, tariff issues since the start of the year imposed by President Trump in the United States, with a number of countries worldwide, including Europe. Europe's in discussions. It's a worry for us, any additional tax on French aircraft headed for the U.S. market.
Even, of course, we're positioned in the U.S., we have a plant in the U.S. Once again, that's going to worsen the competitiveness of our aircraft in the face of U.S. competitors. Highlights, as you saw in the movie, the signing of the contract with India added to the 36 aircraft sold to the Indian Air Force, continued to sell fighter aircraft as we've done for decades now. What the Indians want is to accelerate Make in India, and it's one of the challenges that we have to address. We've begun, and we're going to accelerate the pace of that. You've just seen the air show at Le Bourget, in spite of the backdrop that was really occupied by the trade events from Monday to Thursday. Many turned up; a few major Middle East delegations were not present because of events there, but delegations were there.
Big success of the wider public in spite of the heat wave over the weekend, showing how attached French families are to the aircraft and the passion that it generates. A few words on program activities: we delivered three Rafale to France. Since the start of the year, 53 out of the 50 ordered from France were continuing to develop F4-3. We've obtained risk-sharing contract for the F5 standard. It's the beginning of a process that will take us to certification of a standard around 2035. Just to remind you that next to the F5, we propose to develop a combat drone, and we'll see in the coming weeks and months and years how the budget can address those expectations on the part of armed forces and our proposals on the export front. Entry into force a contract for India's acquisition to equip the Indian Navy.
Four Rafale delivered, 186 yet to be delivered. Across all the contracts signed on the Rafale we're today at 533 aircraft, of which 294 have already been delivered and continuing a number of export prospecting initiatives to continue that commercial success. Falcon. Twelve aircraft delivered in same as H124. Weak orders, eight is against eleven in H124. There's a tariff impact, no doubt about it, an impact about the difficulties of the supply chains. That means that it takes longer to deliver aircraft, of course, impacting the sales. But the arrival of the 6X that's benefiting from excellent customer feedback is being delivered. Open up prospects, of course, we're developing the 10X that hasn't yet entered into service. Make in India, as I mentioned, two, three focus areas for the Make in India. First agreement with JV DRAL.
We continue the ramp-up of the Falcon 2000, a major milestone reach because we decided to now launch the final assembly line for Falcon 2000 in Hyderabad with the ambition of delivering aircraft fairly rapidly. When I say it's within three years. Furthermore, Dassault Aviation, as you saw in the moving, subcontracts to Tata Advanced Systems, Rafale fuselage sections. That's part of the Indian contract, but it demonstrates our determination to manufacture the Rafale in India. Further out, we'll have to set up a final assembly line in India. We're ready to do that. Of course, there's ongoing cooperation with our partners and subcontractors to strengthen our presence in the industrial network with science contract, modernizing industrial capability in France. SERGI in full operation. The end of January '25, following the closure of the Argenté facility.
Mérignac extended buildings in operation for the ramp-up of the Rafale, Martignac for the wings and tail fins, Mérignac to assemble the Falcon. Final assembly of the future 10X and east with the adaptations to continue to prepare the site for flight tests of the 10X. All these industrial facilities are making us spend money. I need to say that. We have depreciation that's growing year on year for the modernization of the company as we move forward. Turning now to the result. Order intake of EUR 8.1 billion, up 57%. Sales, EUR 2.8 billion, up 12%, and a backlog that continues to grow over one, thanks to the Rafale, up 20% versus the end of 2024. Below, you have the split between the export, defense France, and the Falcons. Self-financing is declining. Success is in service. We're going to begin to decrease self-financed R&D for the major programs.
It's essentially the 10X. Now to the results, net sales of EUR 2 billion and EUR 47 million, operating income at EUR 180 million, slightly up versus 2024, but with the higher sales, operating margin at 6.3%, slightly down on the back of the Falcon mix. That is, we've delivered more 6Xs. That's good news for the 6X, but as you know, the beginning of the series have lower margins than the older aircraft. It's the decreased curve. Financial income, EUR 77 million versus EUR 106 . These funding issues for the down payments. The finances will explain the accounting implications. You have to take that into account. In the IFRS, it decreased that income. Taxes EUR 113 versus EUR 70 . The additional tax surcharge on companies applies proportionately from 2024 to 2025, costing us about EUR 67 million.
That's an impact of about 2.2% on net income coming in at EUR 386 million versus EUR 442 million. If you add the EUR 67 , we'd be pretty much on a par, but with sales slightly higher. That needs to be compared. Net income margin at 13.6% versus 17.4% of the H12024. Cash continuing to increase because of down payments for export contracts. Free cash flow EUR 1.5 billion, EUR 9.5. EUR 8.4 dividends, EUR 1.5. The guidance, we confirm our guidance. We delivered far more in H2 and H1 to reach sales of EUR 6.5 billion, including 40 Falcon and 25 Rafale. Let's not forget that in this number, there's a significant take of support between. 30, 40% of that sales made up of supporting Rafales worldwide and Falcons in France. That's what I can tell you about the half, and I'm now ready to take your questions.
Bonsoir, Thierry.
Good evening Thierry DuBois, Aviation Week . We have questions on the Falcons. How many 6X Falcons have entered into service? You mentioned deliveries and orders a bit. What would be satisfactory levels for you in deliveries and orders? Second question, to give you an example in supply chain issues that are slowing Falcon production. Thanks. On the 6X, we do not give the numbers, but we have begun to deliver just over a year ago. For example, during this first half, the 12 aircraft delivered, the number of 6Xs, about half. You can see the 6X is ramping up, which accounts for the decrease of the operating margin because of the decrease factor. Good level. I mean, a CEO always wants more.
The more aircraft we can deliver, the better, the more we can take in orders, the better. I would say that if we could already, in the current context, a bit challenging to deliver our 40 aircraft this year, I would be a happy CEO. We would have delivered our target and continue like that whilst the ramp-up of the 6X continues, the 10X arrives to consolidate the Falcon family. 40 aircraft, we have got a good profile, but we can support the company with fewer deliveries if we deliver more Rafale in potential. Second half, second question was on the supply chain, yeah. On the supply chain, I will just explain the situation. You have the upstream and you have the downstream end of line.
Two or three years, we have solved, but there are a few issues of the upstream supply chain to manufacture a wing section or a fuselage. You need a number of parts which from time to time are missing. That delays fuselage, wing deliveries, and that impacts the end of where we are solving that. There are some contractors, but I do not want to name them, to be unkind, but there are some contractors who are facing delivery issues, others having difficulty to survive. We see them at the commercial court. That is confidential. We cannot discuss that. What do we do when we go to court? With the other contractors, we have to find a plan who, with the new owner, somebody who can put money in to make sure that the company does not collapse. We are still facing with those cases today.
There are fewer, fortunately, but it remains the case. Time, regularly called by company, right, it is going to be bought out by a US company or by another foreign owner, etc. Is that going to bother you? No, not at all. Subject to making sure that the new acquirer keeps production in France, complies with the constraints that apply for the subcontracting, it works, but there are still issues of working cap to. Weather the storm, even if we have a full order book. We are trying to improve the transparency that we have with our suppliers that, okay, if I take the high file that we are sure that we are going to have deliveries until we are already booking orders for two years, but you know, for a while, there will be work, in fact, for the next five to six years.
That reassures them, but we do, of course, pay them. We make down payments for them, but they have to reimburse their loan, continue to modernize their company, digital summer. Struggling company, saying, right, I am stopped to pay wages, etc.
C'est toujours. Encore une bagarre.
We are still faced with challenges when it comes to the upstream section of our supply chain. When it comes to final assembly, when you move into that stage in the process, you need absolutely everything so you can affect delivery. There is always something missing. When contractors fail, this disrupts the cycle. On the one hand, you stockpile because you have placed the right level of orders, you are on time, but because the contractor delivers late, you cannot get your inventory out in due time. That is something that we are working on.
Other aircraft manufacturers are faced with similar challenges. We are dealing with the same contractors, and we are faced with the same challenges. There is a ramp-up at Airbus as well, and this creates pressure on the supply chain, which has been much weakened by the COVID pandemic. I mean, we are all saying that we have seen the back of the COVID pandemic. Not entirely, I think. I think we should expect additional disruptions over the next year or two. This explains why it can be difficult to deliver on our promises. Like I said, we are maintaining our targets for 2025. We seek to deliver 25 Rafale. This means a level two ramp-up. We are reaching level four when it comes to the upstream segment of the supply chain. We still have level two when it comes to the downstream segment, but that is okay.
For the next two years, things will remain unchanged, and ahead of 2030, we will have to ramp up. If additional contracts emerged, we would sign them. We cannot exactly say no, but we are looking at taking things up a notch and switching to level five ramp-up if necessary. AFP Golden Gava. I have a question regarding the FCAS, the Future Combat Air System. You are considering the possibility of a pullout unless France restores clearer leadership for this project. What would it take for Dassault to maintain its long-term participation in the FCAS program? So 80% of the entire industrial work as opposed to the current 30%? Are you receiving help from the French government? We are not requesting 80% of the work. Allow me to correct you. That is not at all what Dassault wants. I do not know why the press is talking about it.
But we're not going to release a press release simply to correct that. We are looking at how efficiently we can cooperate. This audit is currently in the hands of French public authorities, French, German, and Spanish public authorities, I assume, the DGA, the French Defense Procurement Agency, being in the lead. I'd like to remind you that when it comes to the Euro N6 country governance partnership, we didn't do 80% of the work. We did our share of the workload, as was expected of us, and we're happy to outsource part of the work regarding N Euro N, the most noble part of the plane. That's the wings, and the wings were manufactured by Swedish player Saab, and there wasn't a problem at all. Here's the question mark that I'd like to raise. I'm not just talking about efficiency for France. Like I said, it's a three-country project.
You need a designated leader for any successful project to take place across the world. Dassault Aviation can't exactly have a leadership position if they're dealing with people that are two, three times our size. Contractor selection in France, Germany, and Spain has to be done right. We can't be contingent upon what Airbus is going to decide whether in Germany or in Spain. That's not how we're going to fly our planes. Some people may think that's the right way to go, and they're saying this very vocally. We don't believe in the method used for Eurofighter. We believe in Rafale. We believe in going it alone. We have 400 companies working with us. We're working with Thales, with Safran. We know how to do this on our own. Or we use six countries and six different companies for this demonstrator project.
They're part of the roundtable and everybody has clearly identified tasks and we have a clear leadership. I don't know why people are exaggerating and saying that we request 80% of the workload. That is simply not true. What should be done? What would it take? We need to clarify everybody's roles and obligations and we need a clear leadership. Unless I've been asked to. I've been asked to take this leadership position, but for that, I need about room. This is a question you can raise with the DGA, Procurement Agency, and the public authorities. Hello. Lily Abbott from the Financial Times. As a subscript to the question raised by my colleague here. If you're not requesting 80% of the workload, what do you want exactly? You want to be in charge of contractor selection? Yes.
I want to be able to select the subcontractors that I want to work with. If they don't get the job done well, then I want to be free to switch. This is true for defense. This is true for civil matters. There's always an architect. In any construction project, there's an architect, and there's a program manager, and there's a project manager, and a prime contractor. If you're not happy with your subcontractor, you should be able to switch to someone else. I have very specific examples in mind. Complexity is not a good performance driver. There's a deadline by the end of the year for making decisions regarding phase II Phase II is expected to begin at the end of phase 1B, which will come to an end in 2026, at the end of next year. We should be able to continue on to phase II.
I'm saying this very clearly. We at Dassault are very happy to perform an NGF, a next-generation fighter demonstrator, but we want to do things properly. That's how we work. Are you ready to leave the project if it doesn't work? It's not a question of leaving and not leaving the project. It's a question of whether or not the project will continue. Hello. From Germany. What about the FCAS? Do you feel a closer connection with Airbus during the negotiations? Also, when it comes to selling Rafale to India, there's a lot of Indian propaganda and a lot of noise around this. How do you intend to reassure the public and customers that the Rafale fighter jet performs well enough to withstand pressure from its Chinese rivals? Your question contains its own answer. The solution is simple.
India continues to buy planes from us, and that's what they're telling their counterparts. They don't want to talk about it officially because it's a military operation. My goal is not to reassure the general public. My goal is to keep my customers happy. Rafale fighter jets are perfectly capable of keeping our customers happy. Orders will continue to flow in, mark my words. It all boils down to whether or not customers will continue to buy from us, and they will. What about the FCAS? Closer relationships with Airbus? No, no closer relationships. We have a different style of management, but we do work together. Every day, they do admit, they do accept Dassault's leadership, but that all decisions must be made democratically and that there should be a vote before every decision. I disagree with that.
Give me a single example of any ambitious industrial project in the world that doesn't have a clear leader, that doesn't have a clear leadership structure. If I'm told that I'm the leader, I'm in charge, and I have zero responsibility, and I have to rely on their partners, fine. If it's a joint management structure and that decision is made, sure, why not? It'll take 20 years. We'll spend billions. I'm fine with that. If I'm given targets and objectives, I need to be able to say I will meet those objectives. For that, I need the elbow room to make it happen. Getting back to business jets, business aviation. Could you please take stock of this market considering the current trade war and geopolitical tensions. How that impacts your own dynamics? What about future customs tariffs to come into force on August 1.
Does that impact your activities in Little Rock? Who do you think will incur those additional customs tariffs? Things are very simple. We're moving into a new range of aircraft, the 6X, and very soon the Falcon 10X. We're still midstream. It's a tricky phase. We need to be able to deliver on time. This requires a paradigm shift. Customs tariffs are a thorn in our side. We all know that the U.S. market is more competitive than the French market or the European market. Comparing France and Germany is neither here nor there. We're comparing the EU with the U.S. One day, we will compare the EU with China, and things will be even tougher then. Competitiveness, that's something where the EU is weaker than the U.S. We have plants in the U.S., in Little Rock in particular, which show that.
Our competitiveness will deteriorate further if we have to withstand additional customs tariffs. You've seen our operating profit, 6%. 7% customs tariff? Simply impossible. It's as simple as that. Some people tell us, why don't you just go along with 10%-15% customs tariff? In the aviation sector, there's simply no way. This is not doable. We don't always agree on certain projects, but here we're all standing united and saying this is not acceptable. We need to go back to the 1979 agreements with no mutual reciprocal customs tariffs between France and Europe and the U.S. We all agree on that. Talk to Safran. They make their engines on both sides of the Atlantic. That's what we need. If that doesn't happen and say we have to contend with customs tariffs of 10%, 15%, or 20%. Obviously, this means we can no longer operate on the U.S. market.
As you know, over 50% of the business aviation market is in the U.S. Obviously, we are stronger in our own neck of the woods. We are stronger in Europe than we are in the U.S. Already, we can't trade with Russia. If we can't trade with the U.S. anymore, things are going to get really difficult for us. This could go on a while. What will we do then? We'll see. We'll cross that bridge when we get there. When it comes to Little Rock, yes, the tax will only affect the European-made parts of the plane. In other words, the completion work won't be taxed because it's in the U.S. If you have a 10% or 15% customs tariff, additional customs tariff on 50% of the plane, you're going to feel the impact.
The final price tag, the actual cost, and therefore the final price tag, will be increased, and this will put us in a tougher position. We're busy analyzing the situation. 0% versus 10% or 15% or 30% is, we're talking different ball games. Falcon assembly lines in the U.S.? That's a question that everybody is trying to answer, including us. Et on espère. And we hope, let me reassure you, it's not just France, it's Europe. I hope Europe's going to fight because I hear Europe's strong, it's united, that it's the future for tomorrow. We'll see. I'm like St. Thomas, I'd like to see proof. We'll see if Europe is strong. I hope it's strong. Je vais enchaîner sur le. Just picking up on the FCAS, Belgium said in its news wanted to exit the observer status to become a fully-fledged member. I have two answers.
Either I'm unpleasant or I'm not unpleasant. If I were to be unkind, I'd say, as I'm some of a diplomat, if it gives up the idea of buying F-35s, we'd be welcome. If it's not, that it's really making a monkey out of us. You can choose the right answer. Quite honestly, they've just announced that in the middle of a trade war between the U.S., that they were going to buy F-35s. I mean, I have nothing against that, but what surprises me is that when they say they're going to buy F-35s, that they want to join the FCAS, that they're going to buy combat aircraft from Europe in 2045. In 10 years, a fighter ordered today, delivered, the F-35 takes longer than the Rafale to build. That's not a great performance. Four, five years. In 2030, a fighter lasts 30-40 years.
That takes us to, do the math, 2060, 2070 before they need to renew their fleet. That's what some Europeans are. Mr. Trappier, we're very keen to buy European aircraft. So we just bought F-35s. Come and see us when the F-35s are nearing the end of its lifetime. That's much more honest. It's not better for the construction of Europe. It's more honest than to say that I want work that the Europeans give me, the French in particular, but I buy from the U.S. It's all rather odd.
Je vais enchaîner.
Moving on, on the trade war with the U.S., we heard from certain sources that they were expecting the aeronautical sector to be totally excluded. Is that still the case? Is there still a risk? Of course there's still a risk. The exemption will only happen as part of a trade deal.
There's not just the aeronautical sector that's on the table by the U.S. and the EU. We can fall victim to a non-agreement if there's an overall deal. Will there be the aeronautical exemption? We're a bit more confident, but nothing's certain. Those are the talks we're currently having, including with our U.S. colleagues, but there's nothing firm and final. Sur le programme Vortex. On the Vortex, say program on Vortex. Would you like to see Vortex become on the program, the European Space Agency, that it would be a program that the Prometheus would like to see become an ESA program with contributions from the member? Answer, yes, we're starting Franco-French because that's the rule. You have to start off in your own country so as then to secure more Europe-wide support.
We begun talks with the European Space Agency a few years back, and we're coming up against the kind of Franco-French side of things. We've overcome that hurdle. Much the better. That means that the European Space Agency was very pleased, the French decision on Vortex. The projects, there are several stages over the long term. They're very much in favor. We hope to be able to secure their supports and ease the contracts as of next year. The answer is yes. We're, of course, going to seek our partners. We're not going to go it alone, including in Germany. We have nothing against the Germans. Quite the contrary. We'll find a number of partners, a number of European countries to carry forward this project. Space, to go it alone in Europe isn't easy. There's a real need.
You see, the European Space Station will gradually, the global orbital station with the Chinese, Russians. It's becoming a sovereignty issue. It'll be the small space. They have to be resupplied, go from one to defend ourselves because space is going to become a zone of conflict. To defend ourselves, we have to go there. There are many things that we can bring to the table also. Civil developments, including the concept that we proposed, which seems to interest a number of agencies or companies to colonize space, so to speak. It's space mobility that we're proposing. Going. One last one. Thanks. I don't want to overdo it. I've got loads of questions on the Falcon 10X, please. What are the next major milestones? Can you give us a timeline for the maiden flight and progress that you view as particularly important in the cockpit and in the passenger cabin?
We never give the date of the maiden flight. Never. I mean, we're superstitious. You'll see that once it's flown. We'll put out a press release. Secondly, breakthroughs. When we design the 10X, there's the range increase. It was designed as a living area, living space, because many hours of flight, you can in the cabin, you can work, you can speak. Interact with colleagues and teams. We have widened the cockpit. The fuselage, it will have the widest fuselage. We have a big cabin. That is our proposal. Its range performance, we had not yet addressed that segment up until today. The aircraft was 6,500 nautical miles with the 8X. We are now moving to 7,500. That is an additional 1,000 nautical miles. Longer distances. If you go from the U.S. to Asia, you cross the Pacific. That is a lot of time. In Europe, you go into China.
The 8X is a little shorter range. The 10X will cover that. It is a living space that is efficient, a place to rest, to work, to sleep, and to arrive refreshed at destination with the Falcon. Capabilities, the cockpit, the usual improvements. We will brief you on the cockpit improvements, as we always do. Here, we are following these recommendations. Every time there is a crash, the rules, regulations tighten. The successive Boeing accidents have strengthened certification requirements. That is what has guided the delivery date of the aircraft.
Bon, écoutez.
If that is, let us put an end to this press conference. Thanks for attending. The next will be for the annual results towards the end of February. For those of you who are off on holiday, have a good holiday. You will need a break before September.
A number of challenges await us, French, European, and global, with the tariffs that will keep us busy. Have a pleasant evening.