Dassault Aviation SA is a French manufacturer of military aircraft and business jets. It was founded in 1929 by Marcel Bloch as Société des Avions Marcel Bloch (Marcel Bloch Aircraft Company). After World War II, Marcel Bloch changed his name to Marcel Dassault, and the name of the company was changed to Avions Marcel Dassault on 20 January 1947.
In 1971, Dassault acquired Breguet, forming Avions Marcel Dassault-Breguet Aviation (AMD-BA). In 1990, the company was renamed Dassault Aviation, and is a subsidiary of the Dassault Group.
Dassault Aviation has been headed by Éric Trappier since 9 January 2013.[3]
History
The Société des Avions Marcel Bloch was founded by Marcel Bloch in 1929.[4] In 1935 Bloch and Henry Potez entered into an agreement to buy Société Aérienne Bordelaise (SAB), subsequently renamed Société Aéronautique du Sud-Ouest.[5] In 1936 the arms industry in France was nationalised as the Société Nationale de Constructions Aéronautiques du Sud Ouest (SNCASO). Marcel Bloch was asked to act as delegated administrator of the Minister for Air. During the occupation of France by Nazi Germany the country's aviation industry was virtually disbanded.[6] Marcel Bloch, being Jewish, was imprisoned by the Vichy government in October 1940. In 1944, Bloch, French Jewish individual, was deported to the Buchenwald concentration camp by the German occupiers where he remained until it was liberated on 11 April 1945.
On 10 November 1945, at an extraordinary general meeting of the Société Anonyme des Avions Marcel Bloch the company voted to change its form to a limited liability entity, Société des Avions Marcel Bloch, which was to be a holding company. On 20 January 1947 Société des Avions Marcel Bloch became Société des Avions Marcel Dassault to reflect the name adopted by Marcel Bloch’s brother (Darius Paul Dassault) while being active in the French Resistance.
In 1954, Dassault established an electronics division (by 1962 named Electronique Marcel Dassault), the first action of which was to begin the development of airborne radars, soon followed by seeker heads for air-to-air missiles, navigation, and bombing aids. From the 1950s to late 1970s exports become a major part of Dassault's business; major successes were the Dassault Mirage series and the Mystere-Falcon.
In 1965 and 1966, the French government stressed to its various defense suppliers the need to specialize to maintain viable companies. Dassault was to specialise in combat and business aircraft, Nord Aviation in ballistic missiles and Sud Aviation civil and military transport aircraft and helicopters.[7] (Nord Aviation and Sud Aviation would merge in 1970 to form Aérospatiale which would itself later merge with 2 other firms and become EADS (now Airbus)).
On 27 June 1967, Dassault (at the urging of the French government) acquired 66% of Breguet Aviation. Under the merger deal Société des Avions Marcel Dassault was dissolved on 14 December 1971, with its assets vested in Breguet, to be renamed Avions Marcel Dassault-Breguet Aviation (AMD-BA). Dassault Systèmes was established in 1981 to develop and market Dassault's CAD program, CATIA. Dassault Systèmes was to become a market leader in this field.
In 1979, the French government took a 20% share in Dassault and established the Societé de Gestion de Participations Aéronautiques (SOGEPA) to manage this and an indirect 25% share in Aerospatiale (the government also held a direct 75% share in that company). In 1998 the French government transferred its shares in Dassault Aviation (45.76%) to Aerospatiale. On 10 July 2000, Aérospatiale-Matra merged with other European companies to form EADS (presently Airbus).
In 2000, Serge Dassault resigned as chairman and was succeeded by Charles Edelstenne. Serge Dassault was appointed honorary chairman. The American company Atlantic Aviation based in Wilmington, Delaware, was acquired in October 2000.
Airbus sold some of its ownership back to Dassault in 2014,[8] and further reduced its share to 27% in 2015[9] then to 10% in 2016.[10]
In April 2024, it was announced that Serbia would sign a deal with Dassault worth £3 billion. This was the largest weapons deal in Serbian history.[11]
Subsidiaries
Sogitec, a wholly owned subsidiary of Dassault, makes advanced avionics simulation, 3D imaging, military flight simulators, and document imaging systems.
Products
Military
- Breguet family See main article: Dassault Breguet
- MD 315 Flamant, 1947
- MD 450 Ouragan, 1951
- Mystère, 1951
- MD 452 Mystère I, II, III (a one-off MD-452 nightfighter), 1951
- MD 454 Mystère IV, 1952
- Super Mystère, 1955
- MMD 550 Mystère-Delta, 1955 prototype
- Étendard, 1956
- Étendard II, 1956
- Étendard IV, 1958
- Super Étendard, 1974
Facilities and offices
Production
- St. Cloud – c. 1938 former engine and fighter plant now heavy-duty simulation systems, and technical branch headquarters
- Argenteuil - c. 1952
- Biarritz – acquired Breguet plant 1971
- Merignac - c. 1947
- Talence - operating from 1939 to 1947
- Lorraine – c. 1951 as rented facility before moved to Argenteuil
- Nagpur – a Joint Venture with Reliance Aerostructure Limited (a subsidiary of Reliance Infrastructure) – operating as Dassault Reliance Aerospace Limited (DRAL) – at MIHAN at Nagpur airport, Maharashtra, India. As of 2025, the facility supplies parts for Dassault Falcon family and Dassault Rafale.[12]
See also
- Dassault Group
- Dassault Falcon
- Dassault Rafale
- Mirage 2000
- nEUROn
External links
References
- FINANCIAL RELEASE Dassault Aviation, retrieved 5 March 2025^
- 2022 Annual Report Dassault Aviation SA, retrieved 9 August 2023^
- Dassault Names Eric Trappier as Chief to Succeed Edelstenne