The Irish Air Corps (Dublin International) has taken delivery of a factory-new Falcon 6X, on schedule with the original delivery timeline. The aircraft, set to enter service in the first quarter of 2026, will serve as the state's new VIP transport, replacing a Learjet 45 dating from 2003.
Configured for up to 14 passengers, the Falcon 6X departed Dassault Aviation's delivery centre at Paris Le Bourget for Baldonnel, where it will be based, on December 16 under test registration F-WZOY (msn 27). The aircraft's future numeric registration has not yet been disclosed.
At a ceremony marking the arrival, Minister for Defence Helen McEntee said the Falcon 6X will strengthen the state's transport, airlift, and medical evacuation capabilities, while supporting defence forces' missions such as evacuating citizens, transferring patients, and transporting supplies abroad.
The total cost of the aircraft was EUR53 million euros (USD62 million) plus value-added tax, which was around EUR8 million (USD9.4 million) above the initial budget. It replaces a seven-seat Learjet 45, registered as 258 (msn 45-234), which arrived at the Irish Air Corps as new.
The Bombardier Business Aircraft flew three times in 2025, most recently on October 2 between London Biggin Hill, where it had been parked since May 1, and Baldonnel.
In December, the Irish Air Corps also received a new advanced surveillance DHC-6-400, to be operated on behalf of the Garda Air Support Unit (GASU), part of Ireland's national police force (Garda Síochána). The turboprop replaces a 1997-built Britten-Norman BN-2 Defender.
In September, the air force added a C-295M, joining two C-295MPAs, four PC-12NGs, eight Pilatus Aircraft PC-9 trainers, and six AW139s. Four Eurocopter EC135s, two of which operated on behalf of the GASU, will be replaced by four H145 Airbus Helicopters ordered by the Department of Defence, with deliveries beginning in 2027.
Ireland is the second country to select the Falcon 6X as a VIP platform for state travel. In late April, Serbia took delivery of the first governmental Falcon 6X, operated by the Government Avio Service directorate. To date, Dassault Aviation has delivered 25 units of the type.
