Aircraft deliveries at Gulfstream Aerospace are projected to reach 170 units in 2024, topping the company's previous high-water mark of 156 shipments in 2008, Phebe Novakovic—the chairman and CEO of parent company General Dynamics—said this morning during a fourth-quarter investor call. Deliveries this year are expected to marginally increase to 124 aircraft—up from 119 last year—due to supply chain restraints, and then climb to 148 units in 2023 before increasing further in 2024, she said.

The 119 Gulfstreams handed over last year was down by eight aircraft from 2020, largely the result of fewer super-midsize G280 deliveries. Last year’s mix included 103 large-cabin jets and 16 G280s, compared with 105 large-cabin jets and 22 G280s in 2020.

According to Novakovic, demand for Gulfstreams remains robust, with backlog for in-production large-cabin aircraft—the G600, G650, and G500—currently in the “sweet spot” of 18 to 24 months. She said there is “solid demand” for Gulfstreams going forward and noted that book-to-bill is expected to remain at least 1:1 even as the aircraft manufacturer is set to ramp up production in the coming years. Book-to-bill last year at Gulfstream was 1.7:1, and backlog grew 40 percent year-over-year.

General Dynamics’ aerospace unit, which includes Gulfstream and Jet Aviation, “will be a significant growth engine [for General Dynamics] in 2023 and 2024,” Novakovic concluded.