- Feb 13, 2012
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The French newspaper La Tribune, which has reliable information about arms programs related to the French defense industry, reported that Saudi Arabia is in talks with France in order to purchase at least a hundred Rafale fighters, or even 200, are mentioned, as well as to participate in France's sixth generation fighter FCAS program.
The Saudis had previously considered purchasing the Rafale in 2006, and Chirac then hoped to sell 72 of the fighters. In the end, the Saudis chose the Typhoon and the F-15SE. The thing is, since then, a lot has changed. For starters, there were various problems with deliveries from the US, and in the end Trump had to be elected in order for everything to go as it should!
Germany also causes a lot of problems for the Saudis, as it delays as much as possible the delivery of German-made weapons, for example the gearbox of the MMSC frigates, which is of German origin, and the United States is not always on good terms with the Saudis,
On the other hand, the French have proven to be more resilient, and they tirelessly support whatever weapons and systems the Saudis have. The Emirates also received the SCALP EG cruise missile many years ago, and recently purchased 80 Rafale F4 aircraft. At the same time, Egypt is very content with the French, issuing important high-tech weapons systems.
In short, the US rejection of the F-35 offer, first to the Emirates and then to Saudi Arabia, will lead to a jump in Rafale sales. The United Arab Emirates is a contribution to the development of the F4 version, while the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will now enter into the financing of FCAS and the Saudi financial contribution is considered more important than the German financial contribution. So that Dassault can continue the FCAS program alone, leading to a major restructuring of the aviation industry around the world.
The information states that discussions are about "replacing all aging F-15s as well as Tornado IDS".
https://www.latribune.fr/entreprise...mbryonnaires-de-l-arabie-saoudite-942032.html
