Aircraft

Bombardier has launched its next-generation Learjet, provisionally dubbed the NXT. The eight-seat business jet will compete in the popular, lucrative and increasingly crowded mid-size sector in which Bombardier is already represented with its Learjet 60XR.

Public unveiling of the NXT is set for October next year to coincide, Bombardier says, with the 45th anniversary of the Learjet's first flight.

Preliminary performance data from Bombardier reveals that the NXT will have a high-speed cruise of Mach 0.82 and a range of up to 5,560km (3,000nm).

"The NXT is set to redefine the mid-size jet category and set the standard against which all competitive aircraft will be measured," says Bombardier Aerospace president Pierre Beaudoin,

Pierre Gabriel Cote, president of Bombardier Business Aircraft, says: "The design is customer-driven, based on what they have told us they need and want in a new mid-size category business jet. To date, initial market interest in this next-generation offering is strong, as we have received in excess of 65 letters of intent for this aircraft, which we expect to successfully convert into firm orders over the coming months."