You may won't believe it but many countries want to trade with France as well. So the Indian added value here is still hypothetical.
None of that has translated to a sale.
Give me the list and I'll be able to see if those countries could have been natural prospects for French made Rafale or not.
The full list is classified, but some countries are known, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Venezuela, Chile, of course, Brazil. There's Argentina too.
In fact, some of them are more interested in the airborne Brahmos, which means the sale of Su-30MKI along with it. Once Brahmos-NG is made, it can be equipped on Rafale also, so the Brahmos-Rafale combo will find more sales.
We'll extend Mérignac capacity and create a new line if needed. Do you think it is a problem for us really ?
Why waste money expanding when there is another cheaper and larger line being built?
I've read that many sub-contractors are working just one day a year for Rafale so even if (a miracle) production had to be multiplied by 10 that wouldn't be a problem. "Un problème de riches" as we say in France.
Yes, some subcontractors finish early, some subcontractors finish much later. Your supply chain is as fast as your slowest subcontractor. So you will have to take that into account.
No you fail to understand that Dassault is not Renault. France has a huge control over military production of Dassault. The Rafale intellectual property must be something highly complicated but the Rafale is more a French government thing than a DA product. So DA is not free to chase for profit like any other normal company that has full control of its products.
Bro, Dassault is setting up a factory with Reliance in India for exports also.
You've got nothing to prove that and that would be a suicide for Dassault.
Why?
Even Picdel is of the opinion that France should develop AMCA together with India and buy it for the ADLA/MN, to replace the Mirage-2000s and older Rafales. Defence production between India and France can be synergistic. It's of immense benefit to both countries.
As it stands, Dassault has an order of 180 jets from France, and future order is only for 45 jets. In India, the potential is anywhere between 200-350, all new build. Even if France orders all 225 jets as promised, that's just an increase of another 45 jets. So it's obvious that when you pit a 90 jets order against a potential of up to 350 jets, the market with the 350 jets will become more important. Even 200 jets is more than France's potential of just 90 jets.
When shareholders look at the balance sheets, pride is the last thing on their mind.
The Rafale in its category is extremely competitive. We have lost because of politics or because of the offer was not adapted to the need of the country who needed cheaper but less capable fighters like in Brazil or Switzerland. Those offer were cheaper but for a less powerful product so nothing "uncompetitive" here.
The problem is you have lost deals where you shouldn't have. Particularly in competition with Typhoon, F-15 and F-16. Even Gripen. Even the Qatar order should have been as many as 72 jets, had it not been for the F-15s.
And you have no access to markets that India will have. All your Rafale customers are simply your older M-2000 customers. There is no breakthrough with new customers. Adding India in the supply chain can significantly reduce the impact of politics in a deal, and provide extremely good cost competitive advantage to Dassault.
Take UAE for example, you are selling 60 jets to them. But once India gets in, India can make an offer they can't refuse. We will tell them, "Buy 60 more jets from an Indian line and we will buy another 100,000 bpd of oil from you for 10 years". Win-win. France cannot make such an offer.
It's even better because Reliance is involved in Rafale production. Those 100,000 bpd will go straight to the brothers's own refineries, which they will then sell back to the UAE as processed petroleum. They are involved in so many businesses that it becomes very easy to barter defence contracts, an advantage that no other defence company in the world has. Give it 10 years, even Boeing and LM will look tiny in front of this conglomerate. And Dassault will have a lot of leverage in this company.
In fact, France and India will begin selling defence equipment in all sectors, not just fighter jets, because Reliance wants to get into all defence fields, armour, ships, submarines, fighters, transports, helicopters etc. And the Rafale partners can easily become partners in other fields as well.
It's a very long term and lucrative partnership. You want to ignore all that for what, make a few extra Rafales in France, while hoping to get contracts you will never get?
, Tay.
