Dassault Falcon Jet is set to open a $115 million service facility in Melbourne, Fla., catering to maintenance, repair and overhaul of its fleet of corporate aircraft. The complex, aimed at ultra-high-net-worth customers, will eventually employ 350 workers and house up to 16 Falcon models simultaneously. Scheduled to welcome its first aircraft in summer 2025, the hangar signifies a major investment for the French aviation giant.
CEG photo
As part of a global jet-maintenance expansion, DFJ is wrapping up construction of a $115 million white-and-blue hangar facility taking shape off Apollo Boulevard in Melbourne, Fla.
Dassault Falcon Jet officials expect their new service complex at Melbourne Orlando International Airport to welcome its first aircraft summer 2025 — launching plans to eventually employ approximately 350 well-paid workers and attract "ultra-high-net-worth customers" to Florida's Space Coast for weeks at a time.
Boasting a multi-billion-dollar worldwide backlog of aircraft orders, the French aviation giant also is scrambling to meet heavy demand from existing customers to maintain, repair, paint and overhaul their business jets — which can cost north of $60 million.
As part of a global jet-maintenance expansion, DFJ is wrapping up construction of a $115 million white-and-blue hangar facility taking shape off Apollo Boulevard in Melbourne, Fla., Florida Today reported March 31, 2025.
The 235,000-sq.-ft. structure will serve as a troubleshooting hub for mechanical, hydraulic, electrical and electronic systems on all models of Falcon corporate aircraft from the U.S. East Coast, Mexico and Latin America.
"Airplanes arriving on site will be a mix," Andy Alberti, DFJ's vice president of maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) in the Americas, told the Viera-based news source. "You'll have aircraft that have a part failure, [or] that need that one part changed. [After they] show up, the next morning they go back into service."
He noted that the Brevard County facility also will handle standard annual maintenance, which lasts one to two weeks and its crew can do full paint jobs, interior work, avionics updates and all major maintenance.
"So that could be up to a three-month input," Alberti said.
A construction sign facing Apollo Boulevard still refers to DFJ's future facility by its code-name, Project Vista, a once-secretive economic development undertaking. The mystery company was publicly identified in October 2022, and a dedication ceremony took place 13 months later on the Hyatt Place Melbourne Airport rooftop deck.
The complex will accommodate all current Falcon models, including the new ultra-long-range Falcon 10X, the largest purpose-built business jet, and be capable of performing major work and modifications on up to 16 Falcon models simultaneously.
Employees are expected to earn average salaries of $86,120, the Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast reported. Partners on the project included Space Florida, Enterprise Florida and CareerSource Brevard.
"Dassault Falcon Jet's presence will not only create hundreds of high-paying jobs but also strengthen Melbourne Orlando International Airport's position as a global leader in aviation services," Greg Donovan, airport executive director, said in an e-mail to Florida Today. "Over the past decade, MLB has reinvested airport revenue into major infrastructure improvements — the very same improvements that are central to attracting new companies like DFJ."
Bolstering the Space Coast's economic impact, DFJ's "ultra-high-net-worth customers," including corporate pilots and crew chiefs, will be encouraged to stay in Melbourne-area hotels for weeks, if necessary, to monitor progress while their aircraft are revamped. In fact, the service facility will feature 14 offices and a conference room, lounge and other amenities for customer use during their layovers, according to Florida Today.
The prime contractor for the new jet maintenance hangar is the Haskell Company, based in Jacksonville, Fla.
Inside Dassault Falcon Jet Hangars
Inside the sprawling, white-painted maintenance and overhaul hangar on a recent day, construction workers soared upward on scissor lifts while finishing tasks near the 57-ft. ceiling.
The 46-acre site is located on the airport property between Sheltair Aviation's fixed-base headquarters and General Aviation Drive, a gated roadway leading to Embraer's jet manufacturing campus.
Besides the Falcon 10X, the Melbourne complex is geared to accommodate every other Falcon model, including Dassault's latest — the Falcon 6X — a widebody jet introduced in 2023; and the Falcon 8X, designed for long-range flights. Both are designed to carry as many as 16 passengers.
The jumbo-sized Falcon 10X business jet remains under development, with first deliveries expected in 2027.
According to the company website, the Falcon 10X is so large it can include "an expanded dining/conference area, an entertainment area with a large-screen monitor, a private stateroom with a true queen-size bed or a master suite with a private stand-up shower."
Not far from the primary DFJ maintenance facility in Melbourne, a smaller hangar is home to a 54,000-sq.-ft. paint shop. Standing 49 ft. high, it is split into a strip-prep bay on one side and a paint bay on the other. Both have separate ventilation systems.
In speaking with Florida Today, Alberti said it takes approximately four weeks to repaint a jet as the old paint must first be stripped down to the raw metal via hand sanding (composite materials) or a chemical process (aluminum).
A $6.6 million Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) grant helped to kick start the DFJ project by financing an environmental assessment, land-clearing, apron construction, utility extensions, stormwater drainage, an Apollo Boulevard median cut and security equipment for the work, per a Melbourne City Council memo.
During a meeting of the Melbourne Airport Authority on March 26, 2025, David Perley, its director of capital improvements, said underground utility work along Apollo Boulevard is nearing completion. Crews will soon shape driveways and median crossovers, and base rock is being installed so the concrete apron can be poured outside the buildings.
DFJ's other major service centers in the Western Hemisphere are in Little Rock, Ark., Reno, Nev., and São Paulo, Brazil.
It also operates a smaller, 25,000-sq.-ft. service facility in Stuart, Fla., approximately 75 mi. down the coast from Melbourne at Martin County Airport/Witham Field. There, DFJ technicians handle the Falcon 50, Falcon 2000, Falcon 900, Falcon 7X, and Falcon 8X jets.
DFJ spokesperson Andrew Ponzoni said the company expects demand for drop-in and light maintenance in Stuart to remain high, while traditional long-term heavy maintenance gets transitioned northward to Melbourne.
After bringing in a nucleus of approximately 70 mechanics and employees from other DFJ facilities bolstered by new hires — with applicants hailing from as far away as Japan — Dassault Falcon Jet CEO Thierry Betbeze said the Melbourne aviation complex should serve its first aircraft in July 2025 and employ approximately 150 workers by the end of 2025.
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