Textron Aviation announced on August 17, 2026, that its subsidiary company Cessna has officially delivered the 500th business jet in the Cessna Citation CJ4 series. This milestone delivery was accomplished with the handover of a Citation CJ4 Gen2 aircraft to an unnamed customer based in the Philippines, marking a significant achievement for the manufacturer's light jet program.
The Cessna Citation CJ4 series belongs to a prominent family of light executive jets. The program was originally launched in 2006 and completed its maiden flight in 2008, eventually becoming one of the best-selling families of private business jets. At present, Textron Aviation maintains a production and delivery rate of approximately 30 Citation CJ4 aircraft per year.
This 500th delivery occurs slightly more than three years after the manufacturer celebrated its 400th Cessna Citation CJ4 delivery back in April 2023. That previous milestone business jet was delivered to Koch Holdings, an industrial conglomerate based in the United States.
Lannie O’Bannion, the Senior Vice President for Sales and Marketing at Textron Aviation, stated in a press release that the Citation CJ4 has set the industry standard in its class for over a decade. He emphasized that with the current Citation CJ4 Gen2 and the upcoming Citation CJ4 Gen3, the company continues to invest in innovation, technology, and the capabilities most valued by their customers.
The manufacturer is already actively developing and flight testing the next iteration of the series, the Citation CJ4 Gen3. This upcoming model represents the latest and largest version of the Citation CJ4 series, succeeding the original CJ4 base model and the Gen2 version. Designed to carry up to nine passengers and two pilots, the Gen3 model is expected to secure its type certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) before the end of 2026.
The upcoming Citation CJ4 Gen3 is set to introduce several advanced cockpit and safety features, including the new Garmin G3000 PRIME avionics suite along with the Garmin Emergency Autoland safety system. According to verified aviation history records, the prototype for the Citation CJ4 Gen3 conducted its very first flight back in October 2024, as part of Textron Aviation's broader light jet modernization flight-test campaign.
