France Determined To Seal First Rafale Export
PARIS -
France hopes to clinch a badly needed deal with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the sale of 60 Rafale fighter jets as part of a longstanding export drive, although an announcement was not expected at the Dubai Air Show, which opens Nov. 13.
The French Air Force will fly a Rafale fighter at the air show as part of the official support campaign. Gen. Jean-Paul Palomeros, the Air Force chief-of-staff, also was due to visit the exhibition, looking to maintain the close military-to-military ties seen as essential in winning a foreign arms contract.
An announcement of a deal was not expected as talks are still going on, and if the UAE were to reach an agreement, Abu Dhabi would want to make the announcement because that is where the UAE seat of government is located.
Domestic budget cuts mean the French government and industry must find foreign buyers for the Rafale, and the UAE is seen as the closest to a signing. Negotiations are continuing between UAE officials and France, although price has been a sticking point.
UAE officials had reached out to Lockheed Martin for information on the F-16 as an initial $10 billion tag for the Rafale caused price resistance.
Flying in the Libyan operations, the Rafale showed the 7.5-ton thrust of the Snecma M88 engine did not need to be uprated to 9 tons as previously requested by the UAE, according to French Defense Minister Gérard Longuet
That helped trim development costs on an eventual UAE purchase. The UAE has also asked for a more powerful radar.
The Rafale's operations in the Libya campaign are seen as a success story by the French military.
"Without hesitation, we're happy with the Rafale's capabilities," an Air Force spokesman said. "The multirole capabilities were tested and validated."
The availability rate averaged around 94 percent, an exceptionally high level for this generation of fighter aircraft, he said.
Besides delivering a range of munitions, as expected, the Air Force was pleased with the Reco NG reconnaissance pod, and the Rafale's ability to refuel inflight in night, day and bad weather conditions.
The Rafale deployed in all configurations - air superiority, ground support and reconnaissance, a spokesman for the chief of the Defense Staff said. The munitions included GBU glide bombs for close support, stand off with the Armement Air-Sol Modulaire (AASM), and long-range penetration with the Scalp cruise missile, he said.
The Rafale has flown for years in Afghanistan, but the range of missions was wider in Libya, where the aircraft showed its interoperability with the airborne warning and control systems aircraft.
France deployed nearly 20 Rafales in Libya, including flying 10 Navy fighters from the Charles de Gaulle carrier, and French Air Force units from air bases in France, Greece and Italy.
Any sale of the Rafale also opens up sales opportunities for missile maker MBDA, which would offer the long-range Meteor and anti-armor Brimstone weapons.
One component of the sale of the Rafale would be resolving what the
UAE will do with its fleet of Mirage 2000-9 fighters. France has offered to buy back these aircraft and find buyers for them.
The Rafale is seen as the flagship of French military aircraft technology, bringing together Dassault, Safran's Snecma and electronics maker Thales, and a host of suppliers.
Bill McHenry, Lockheed Martin's F-16 business development director, said his company is talking to the UAE about additional aircraft purchases.
"Yes, they have been looking at additional airplanes for their fleet and some modernization of their airplanes," he said. However, the additional aircraft purchases would go hand-in-hand with the UAE's F-16 fleet modernization plans, McHenry said. Because aircraft would have to be taken out of service for upgrades, he said, the UAE is looking at additional planes to maintain a level force strength.
Saab's Gripen sales effort in the region is focused on Qatar, where the company, like many of its rivals, responded in mid-2010 to a request for information for a new fighter.
Little has been heard from the Qataris since the bids were submitted more than 15 months ago, with the Arab Spring and the Libyan conflict bringing progress to a standstill.
Magnus Olsson, Saab's regional director for Gripen exports, said that while they continue to monitor developments in the area, the focus of their major campaigns lies elsewhere.
While the Middle East is not a key area for Gripen at the moment, interest could strengthen on the back of efforts by Saab to sell its airborne early warning aircraft locally.
Eurofighter's immediate attention is focused on Japan and India rather than the gulf, with the major competitions the Typhoon is embroiled in appearing to be nearing a conclusion in both countries.
But with many of the gulf's air forces in the throes of modernizing, Typhoon's battle for supremacy in the region's fighter market continues unabated, primarily against Rafale and U.S. rivals F/A-18 and F-16.
The Typhoon, which like the Rafale acquitted itself well in the recent Libyan campaign, is being delivered to the Saudis as part of a massive 72-aircraft order that has the potential to be expanded at a later date.
In Oman, long-running negotiations with Eurofighter partner BAE Systems about buying Typhoons rumble on with issues, including the standard of aircraft, support and late delivery of offshore patrol vessels to the gulf nation's Navy, all having slowed a conclusion to the deal.
France Determined To Seal First Rafale Export - Defense News
