Dassault - Rafale on the starting blocks in Malaysia

[SpArK]

Dassault - Rafale on the starting blocks in Malaysia​

* Malaysia wants to buy 18 fighter jets by 2015

* Dassault ready to install an assembly line on site

* A giant contract in India still expected this year

* The Rafale retain its chances in Brazil, says CEO

by Cyril Altmeyer

SAINT-CLOUD, Hauts-de-Seine, June 14 (Reuters) - Dassault Aviation said Friday ready to install an assembly line Rafale Malaysia and strengthen its industrial partnerships in the country to win the very contract played for 18 combat aircraft, estimated by industry sources at several billion dollars.

The tricolor manufacturer already hopes to complete by the end of the year a contract for 126 aircraft in India and 63 potential options, valued at approximately $ 15 billion.

Malaysia, which wants to replace its fleet by 2015 Russian MIG-29, a pre-selected three European competitors - the Rafale, Eurofighter, built by EADS, BAE Systems and Finmeccanica) and the Swedish Saab Gripen) - as well as the F18 Boeing and the Russian Sukhoi.

"We are very active in Malaysia, we sent our Rafale repeatedly to assessments by pilots," said Eric Trappier, CEO of Dassault Aviation, in which EADS holds 46%, at a press conference in the occasion of the Paris Air Show will open its doors Monday


"If they want to pay for an assembly line, they will," said the one who succeeded in January in Edelstenne head of Dassault Aviation, in which EADS holds 46%.

The fighter in Asia and the Middle East sales should more than offset the cuts in the United States and Europe, has said his side Tuesday BAE Systems.

NEGOTIATIONS IN FRANCE ON THE BURST

In France, the law on military programming (LPM) to be voted on in the fall to reduce the need 300-225 of the French forces in combat aircraft, including the Mirage 2000-D Dassault Aviation still in business.

"In 10 or 20 years, we expect that the Rafale has replaced all types of aircraft" within the French forces, said Eric Trappier.

The manufacturer is currently negotiating with the French government a conditional tranche of Rafale, in addition to the firm order for 180 units of which the manufacturer has already delivered 119 to date.

"Because of budget constraints, the delivery schedule is not as fast as we had hoped," noted Eric Trappier.

The Defence Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, said Tuesday that France is expected to continue to take delivery of 11 units per year until 2016, below which Dassault Aviation estimated that the production of the program fall within the mission impossible.

Jean-Yves Le Drian, which increases the potential shifts in client countries, such as Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, said he hoped that the export of the Rafale take from 2017 over the French command.

Paris and trying for years to sell at least 36 Rafale in Brazil, reiterated Monday that the French aircraft was still part of his potential choices.

However, Brazilian officials said in early June Reuters Brasilia, which regularly reports the launch of its tender was moving now more toward the Boeing F-18 as the Rafale and Swedish Gripen.

"It is necessary to have an aircraft that remained in production for years to come, which is our case," said Eric Trappier. "I think we better wait, so we do not mind waiting."

Dassault Aviation is also in the running to Canada, who studies an alternative to the American F35




SALON-Dassault - Le Rafale sur les starting blocks en Malaisie | Reuters

 

[Abingdonboy]

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+ would be interesting if the RMAF went for the Rafale- following the IAF's footsteps once again (before the the SU-30 MKM).
With the RMAF-IAF ties in place for training not to mention industrial ties as far as spares go, India's decision to go for the Rafale may play a part in the RMAF's own decision on this front- Who knows?​

 

[Skull and Bones]

Canada's search for an alternative to F-35 was shocking for me. Can they really afford to move out of the US clout?

 

[Abingdonboy]

Canada's search for an alternative to F-35 was shocking for me. Can they really afford to move out of the US clout?

Can they afford to stick with the F-35 (financially speaking) is the real question?

 

[hkdas]

Can they afford to stick with the F-35 (financially speaking) is the real question?

f-35 is overpriced. canada wants cheaper one with same capability of f-35.

 

[Skull and Bones]

Can they afford to stick with the F-35 (financially speaking) is the real question?

Even Rafale will set them back by $120 million per piece, if price was really a concern then they should have thought about Gripen or F-16.

 

[Abingdonboy]

Even Rafale will set them back by $120 million per piece, if price was really a concern then they should have thought about Gripen or F-16.

Well no one knows the true cost of the F-35 to date and no one really knows the true performance of the machine right now.


Watch this mate:

Excellently puts forth all the issues nations like Candae are grappling with when it comes down to the F-35 and, no, it is not all cost related- performance or lack there of is a major issue in this rethink.

 

[Roybot]

Assembly line for 18 aircrafts?

 

[hkdas]

Even Rafale will set them back by $120 million per piece, if price was really a concern then they should have thought about Gripen or F-16.

not $120million it is $90million

 

[Skull and Bones]

not $120million it is $90million

Fly away cost signifies nothing in real world.

Assembly line for 18 aircrafts?

Mere assembly from imported knocked down units, but why they need an assembly line is beyond my comprehension.

 

[Abingdonboy]

Fly away cost signifies nothing in real world.

AFAIK the life-time costs of such things as fighter jets is two times the initial unit price.

 

[Skull and Bones]

AFAIK the life-time costs of such things as fighter jets is two times the initial unit price.

Prolly, depends on how maintenance heavy the airframe is. For an F-22 with per unit price at $160 million, the lifetime costs will far exceed than twice the acquisition cost. While Soviet Mig-21 will tell you a different story.

 

[illusion8]

Fly away cost signifies nothing in real world.



Mere assembly from imported knocked down units, but why they need an assembly line is beyond my comprehension.

Might use it to cut production cost for dassault overall - must be an inducement from dassault to select rafale and make the deal sweeter.

 

[Abingdonboy]

Prolly, depends on how maintenance heavy the airframe is. For an F-22 with per unit price at $160 million, the lifetime costs will far exceed than twice the acquisition cost. While Soviet Mig-21 will tell you a different story.

You're right there. The general 2:1 ratio of life-time costs to unit costs is true for most Western a/c, the Russians/Soviets could only dream of this- they have touched 4-6:1 wrt life-time costs to unit costs and we can see the affect this has had on the IAF for instance. The F-22 and -35 are anomalies in this sense as their life-time costs are going to be a very unfunny joke to AFs that operate them.

 

[Donatello]

If India approves Rafale, then maybe Malaysia can get it's samples built from India. Because setting up a production line for just 18 aircraft would be sheer wastage. But that is if India signs the deal now and gets the production line rolling before 2015.