Featured No Buyers For Rafale Jets: Why Almost Every Country Dumped French Rafales Except India?

[Trailer23]

fyi - i do not understand the Indian air force purchase of 36 Rafales

I'll take the F-16 Block 70/72 over that portable French-made whorehouse (anyday).

 

[Raj-Hindustani]

I'll take the F-16 Block 70/72 over that portable French-made whorehouse (anyday).

And US striction free attached..

 

[Dil Pakistan]

The selection of Rafale was more strategic and political than the military. What India has achieved from the deal? Technically block all the defense deals btw Pakistan & France including avionics for integration, absolutely safe and secure from sanctions, in future France will always sides with India against Pakistan, soon get more leverage and incentives in the different sectors of business (in both import/export), safe from the U.S blackmailing tho they’re already getting a massive amount of 2nd line defense equipment from the U.S, India now has access to best French defense equipment including nuclear tech.... said this before, Indian defense establishment is not an idiot... that's fine you can humiliate your enemy but at this Rafale deal, India has achieved many objectives. For India’s perspective despite Ladakh Chinese issue, India sees Pakistan as its core enemy so technically Pakistan now limit to China for its defense needs. India applied the same Russian formula here if you see from Pakistan’s POV. Getting 4 mi Hind helis won’t do much, Russian core priority is Indian when it comes to $$$/defense equation. So, the same for French now.

You have hit the nail on its head.

Just to add, when the deal was announced (and initially for much larger numbers, 136 jets in total) PAF was close to sign a $2.3-Billion deal for its JF-17.
French played cleverly at that time and cornered India, by dangling this deal in front of them.
If PAF had got that deal, the Indian MMRCA program was dead.

I still believe that Eurofighter was a much better option that Rafael.

 

[Trailer23]

And US striction free attached..

Oops. Looks like I struck a nerve with Rafael-lovers.

The F-16 just looks better than a Rafale.

It's certainly far more accomplished than the Rafale.

 

[Raj-Hindustani]

Oops. Looks like I struck a nerve with Rafael-lovers.

The F-16 just looks better than a Rafale.

It's certainly far more accomplished than the Rafale.

Yes, because Pakistan is having otherwise technically no chance.

 

[PradoTLC]

The Rafale is one of the most expensive aircraft in the international market. India’s deal of 36 jets is worth Rs. 60,000 crores. Experts argue that the high cost is the result of many reasons including general inefficiency in the country’s defence sector.

Published
16 hours ago
on August 2, 2020

While India is celebrating the arrival of its Rafale jets, military experts have not only questioned its capabilities against US aircraft but also raised questions why the Rafale jets failed to compete in the international arms markets and got dumped by a majority of nations?
Dassault’s Rafale was not India’s only choice as various other global firms expressed interest in the MMRCA tender. Six renowned aircraft manufacturers competed to bag the contract of 126 jets, which was hailed to be the largest-ever defence acquisition deal of India.

The initial bidders were Lockheed Martin’s F-16s, Boeing’s F/A-18s, Eurofighter Typhoon, Russia’s MiG-35, Sweden’s Saab’s Gripen and Dassault’s Rafale.

All aircraft were tested by the IAF and after careful analysis on the bids, two of them — Eurofighter Typhoon and Dassault Rafale — were shortlisted.

Dassault received the contract to provide 126 fighter jets as it was the lowest bidder and the aircraft was said to be easy to maintain. After Rafale won the contract, the Indian side and Dassault started negotiations in 2012. Though the initial plan was to buy 126 jets, India scaled it down to 36, that too in fly-away condition.

No Buyers For Rafale Jets?

Despite boasting of awe-inspiring capabilities and selected by India after a mammoth testing & bidding process, the French origin jets didn’t see many buyers. Other than France and India, only Qatar and Egypt are using Rafale jets and that too in very limited numbers.

As reported earlier by EurAsian Times, Russian aviation experts had claimed that Rafale jets would have been useless against the Chinese Airforce (PLAAF). The maximum speed of the Rafale jet is about Mach 1.8 compared to Chinese J-16s at Mach 2.2. The Rafale’s practical ceiling is also lower than the J-16s. Even in engine thrust, the Chinese J-16s aka Russian Su-35s are far superior to the French combat aircraft. Even if the Indian Air Force (IAF) was to deploy all 36 of its newly acquired jets, the technical superiority would still be on the side of China, claimed the Russian expert.

The Rafale is one of the most expensive aircraft in the international market. India’s deal of 36 jets is worth Rs. 60,000 crores. Experts argue that the high cost is the result of many reasons including general inefficiency in the country’s defence sector, along with the small scale on which the Rafale is being produced in comparison to rival fighters such as the F-18, MiG-29 or F-35 due to which Rafale has not benefitted from economies of scale. This has contributed to its poor performance in the international markets.

Analysts believe that a major hindrance to the Rafale’s success is that it combines a high cost with a very light and unspecialised airframe, meaning that for countries seeking out a high-end fighter, they will turn to look towards something heavier and with more capabilities like the F-15 or Su-35, while for those seeking a cheap medium or lightweight fighter the F-16V, F-18E or MiG-35 would be more cost-effective.

South Korea and Singapore selected the powerful F-15 over Rafale in the 2000s. In 2015, Egypt purchased 24 of those jets – with an option for 12 more – under a wider arms agreement with France.

The following year, in 2016, the two sides entered into a dialogue with Egypt possibly exercising that option, or even expanding the order up to 24 jets. However, even with high-level dialogue between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and French President Emmanuel Macron, Cairo and Paris didn’t finalise the deal. Instead, Egypt inked a deal with Russia to purchase “over two dozen” Su-35 fighter jets.

“Indian media is celebrating the arrival of five Rafales as if they won a war against China. If Rafale is so good, why Oman, Korea, Singapore, Libya, Kuwait, Canada, Brazil, Belgium, UAE, Switzerland, Malaysia refused to buy it. Besides India, only Qatar & Egypt have bought it,” tweeted Ashok Swain, Professor of Peace and Conflict Research, UNESCO Chair of International Water Cooperation.

Rafale’s third buyer, India, previously proposed to acquire 126 jets under Make in India and not 36. However, it took five years for even the first five jets to arrive in India after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced it in April 2015 during his trip to France.

According to Snehesh Alex Philip’s opinion piece in ThePrint, beneath the celebration of the arrival of Rafale jets, lies the harsh reality of India’s painfully slow defence purchases. The Rafale deal and a plethora of procurement, now being done under the emergency clause in the wake of tensions at the Line of Actual Control (LAC), exposes the malaise that continues to shadow India’s defence procurement and planning. “Merely having a large standing Army or an Air Force with aircraft flying on an extended lease of life and without much use against modern weaponry of the enemy, cannot be India’s answer,” he wrote.

According to analysts, despite heavy marketing by the makers of Rafale, France’s relatively small and inefficient defence sector seems to have met its limit with the fighter program. The small production lines are unable to produce the aircraft quickly or efficiently and the French budget for research and development is smaller in contrast to the US or Russia.

The aircraft is priced very steeply and most nations prefer to buy US jets not only because of the technical superiority but also to please the Americans instead of the French. The Rafales have seemingly lost the fight in the international market, despite boasting of excellent qualities.

https://eurasiantimes.com/no-buyers...y-country-dumped-french-rafales-except-india/

France desperately tried to sell rafales to UAE....

it went and purchased F16s...

is rafale bad?

No?

overpriced yes ... for the same money I would have purchased F15s

 

[PradoTLC]

The way the Indians are worshipping the Rafael makes the plane more fit to belong in a shrine or a museum than an airbase.

Indians worshipped trump....

look how that turned out?

 

[Fracker]

Indian (Modi) govt. Got kick-backs from the deal of these fighters and now they are showing to their public they have won the war against China and Pakistan like they do in bollywood. Real world is not bollywood.....

That's the reason they tried 27 February, since they knew from the start PAF pilots can bring down any thing with dog fight. IAF knew they already lost the fight when PAF declared to surprise them. Yet they went with this adventure to save Modi from the growing concerns about corruption in Rafael deal.

 

[Trailer23]

Yes, because Pakistan is having otherwise technically no chance.

According to your (as in India's) rants prior to Rafale & 27th Feb..., Pakistan technically didn't have chance in front of the mighty Su-30MKi.

That myth went down the toilet flush along with your 200+ MKi's. Today, you people have forgotten the Sukoi's altogther and are resting your laurels on 5 Rafales and a few more that'll eventually pop up.

[Challo] feel free to worship the Rafale's all you want. I doubt IAF is dumb enough to bring it in the frontline at the off-chance PAF takes it down (too).

Can you imagine the outcry on Republic, NewsX, Zee etc., not to mention the common man...

 

[Raj-Hindustani]

According to your (as in India's) rants prior to Rafale & 27th Feb..., Pakistan technically didn't have chance in front of the mighty Su-30MKi.

That myth went down the toilet flush along with your 200+ MKi's. Today, you people have forgotten the Sukoi's altogther and are resting your laurels on 5 Rafales and a few more that'll eventually pop up.

[Challo] feel free to worship the Rafale's all you want. I doubt IAF is dumb enough to bring it in the frontline at the off-chance PAF takes it down (too).

Can you imagine the outcry on Republic, NewsX, Zee etc., not to mention the common man...

Su-30MKi stil a beast in South Aisa.

F16 was flying with missile 110 Km and Su 30 Mki was 80 KM but still F16 was not able to shoot-down..... now missile issue has resolved.

I don't find anything else from such a small incident.

 

[Trailer23]

I don't find anything else from such a small incident.

Here is something to remember the ill-fated Su-30MKi of 27th Feb., 2019

 

[Jungibaaz]

Su-30MKi stil a beast in South Aisa.

F16 was flying with missile 110 Km and Su 30 Mki was 80 KM but still F16 was not able to shoot-down..... now missile issue has resolved.

I don't find anything else from such a small incident.

MKI is flying with shorter range missiles, as well as mediocre and dated electronics. It might have been king 15 years ago, times have changed now. Both air forces will field AESA equipped fighters, these newer generation radars beat the Bars PESA in every possible metric, and without the desperate Derby ER addition to the MKI, it’s disadvantaged even against our older F-16s, nevermind AESA and PL-15 combo that will be enjoyed by both PLAAF and PAF.

Let’s not get in to what happened last year with the MKI. You guys produced the wreck of an amraam in suspiciously quick time for someone claiming they dodged it, it was also an exploded case, ever wondered what it struck? Meanwhile we claimed we bagged an MKI kill over your territory, much more can be said besides this in the way the two sides reacted. Let’s leave it at that.

 

[-=virus=-]

Oops. Looks like I struck a nerve with Rafael-lovers.

The F-16 just looks better than a Rafale.

It's certainly far more accomplished than the Rafale.

F-16 looks sexy as hell and has a proven record having being around for so long but it's a single engine jet.

US offered India a much more advanced version than even the block 72 and a full make in India production line.

Rafale is a newer design, twin engine jet that soundly beat out all the rest in the MMRCA competition. That SPECTRA EW suite is a very very special kit. The rest of the munitions package including air to air, air to ground and stand off weapons are also the best anywhere, to put in in Trumpian terms, nothing even comes close as far as 4.5 gen is concerned.

It's just a really good fighter and has seen action in the middle east.

Also, 36 for the IAF is a joke, it's a certainty that a LOT more will be joining the fleet. Perhaps a follow up order of another 36, and then some more. We don't know what form the rest of the acquisition process will look like but rest assured there are more coming for IAF, and who knows.. maybe the navy as well.

Nobody in their right mind would pick F-16 over Rafale

 

[anathema]

you stole my words... french kickback must have been huge...

Last i heard it was south african firm DENEL that was kicked out of India due to corruption ! French so far has come out clean.

 

[denel]

Last i heard it was south african firm DENEL that was kicked out of India due to corruption ! French so far has come out clean.

Excuse me ... yes because of your flipping change in govt... one set of officials did not get; the french were obliged to pay double. That is why!.

Go clean up your shit first. Then your gupta agents tried to hijack our govt as well.