US airframer targets 2027 certification and service entry for updated light jet. (06/04/2026)
Textron Aviation has performed the first flight of its Cessna Citation M2 Gen3 as it works towards securing US certification and service entry for the light business jet in 2027.
Flown by test pilot Andrew Thorson and taking off from the company’s production site in Wichita, Kansas, the maiden sortie lasted almost 3h, with the twinjet reaching 41,000ft and a maximum speed of 263kt (487km/h).
“The aircraft systems and software performed as intended throughout the flight, with all validation checks completed successfully, contributing to a smooth and uneventful flight,” says Tanner Towns, flight-test engineer.
“This flight confirms the strong foundation we’ve built as we move into the next phase of testing.”
The latest iteration of Cessna’s M2 jet, the Gen3 gains improvements to the passenger cabin, alongside the addition of Garmin’s Autoland system to the G3000 avionics suite.