Gulfstream Aerospace expects to build approximately 160 business jets in 2026 and is moving towards an annual production rate of 200 aircraft, President Mark Burns indicated at NBAA-BACE in Las Vegas. The prospective increase is being driven by strong demand for Gulfstream’s large-cabin aircraft, with the manufacturer currently able to sell more jets than its factories can produce.
Burns described the 200-aircraft rate as effectively inevitable barring an unforeseen catastrophe, but Gulfstream has not provided a timetable for reaching it. The target would represent an increase of about 25% from the expected 2026 output.
Gulfstream is expanding its Savannah, Georgia, manufacturing footprint with additional cabin-completion capacity, a furniture-production centre and a new sales and design facility. Automation is also supporting higher productivity: wing production was brought in-house in 2014, and almost every hole is now robotically drilled, reducing production errors and factory rework.
The fleet expansion includes 135 G700s delivered since certification in 2024 and 34 G800s entering service in less than a year. Gulfstream’s backlog reached approximately $25 billion by mid-2026, providing visibility for further production growth while increasing requirements for suppliers, cabin completion, customer support and maintenance capacity.