Company Overview
Dassault Aviation is a French aerospace company known primarily for its Rafale fighter jet and Falcon business jets. While not primarily a software company, Dassault Aviation's engineering heritage — and its historical connection to Dassault Systemes (which originated as a Dassault Aviation division) — places it in the CAD ecosystem's lineage.
Dassault Aviation's internal use of advanced 3D design and simulation tools for aircraft development influenced the creation of CATIA, which later became a standalone product under Dassault Systemes. The aviation company continues to be a major user and reference customer for cutting-edge CAD/PLM technology.
Related Software Company
Dassault Aviation is not a software vendor. CAD/PLM products commonly associated with the Dassault name — CATIA, SOLIDWORKS, SIMULIA (Abaqus), DraftSight — are developed by Dassault Systèmes, a separate publicly traded company that originated as a Dassault Aviation division in 1981.
For detailed profiles of CATIA, SOLIDWORKS, and other Dassault Systèmes products, see our Dassault Systèmes vendor page.
Market Position & Strategy
Dassault Aviation is one of the world's major aerospace manufacturers, producing both military aircraft (Rafale, nEUROn) and business jets (Falcon family). The company is a flagship user of CATIA and the 3DEXPERIENCE platform — Dassault Systèmes' technology was originally developed to serve Dassault Aviation's aircraft design needs, and the aviation company remains a reference customer for advanced digital manufacturing and PLM workflows.
The historical link between Dassault Aviation and Dassault Systèmes is significant for the CAD industry: CATIA was created to solve aerospace design problems at Dassault Aviation, then commercialized as a standalone product. This origin story explains why CATIA retains deep capabilities in complex surface modeling, large-assembly management, and multi-discipline systems engineering — capabilities rooted in aircraft design requirements.
Learning Resources
For learning resources related to CATIA, SOLIDWORKS, and other Dassault Systèmes products, please visit our Dassault Systèmes vendor page. Dassault Aviation's own engineering and technology information is available on their corporate website.