Some Industry Insiders Say An Announcement Will Be Coming Soon

While company executives are playing their cards close to the vest, there is an industry buzz that Gulfstream may be close to announcing a new business jet aimed at Dassault's Falcon 5X.

Business in Savannah reports that Gulfsteam president Larry Flynn (pictured in file photo) alluded to a new product announcement on a recent media flight in an interview with Flightglobal. Aboard a G550, Flynn said to a reporter "We know what we are going to do next, but we haven't announced what we are going to do next."

There have long been rumors of a project called "P42" ... which even showed up on a LinkedIn profile of a flight control engineer for Parker Aerospace, which developed fly-by-wire technology for the G650, according to the paper. There is speculation that the new jet could be announced in October at NBAA in Orlando, but no one at Gulfstream will say. Steve Cass, the business jet manufacturer’s vice president for communications, said “As you know, we have a very robust research and development program, so it’s safe to say we always have projects in the works.”

But industry insiders believe that the P42 project is a clean-sheet successor to the G450 which will incorporate design elements from the G650, but will be built on an all-new wing and fuselage. They say it will be Gulfstream's response to the Falcon 5X which Dassault announced at NBAA last year.

FMI: www.gulfstream.com