The French Rafale Fighter Jet That Nobody Wants

The Rafale has cost $53 billion and is the key to France's defense economy, but it's not selling abroad.

The Rafale fighter, made by France's Dassault Aviation, is loaded with high-tech avionics, radar, and targeting systems. Now all it needs are customers. France has been peddling the supersonic jet since 2000 and hasn't sold a single one. In the latest setback, Brazil said on Jan. 17 that it would reopen bidding for a fighter contract worth up to $7 billion—a deal France had thought it was close to sealing last year. Neither Dassault nor the French Defense Ministry would comment on Brazil's decision.

The Rafale's plight signals the end of an era for France. With their Mirage fighter program, developed in the 1950s, the French were able to bolster their national defense, promote new technologies, and provide well-paying jobs—while recouping much of the cost by exporting hundreds of jets worldwide. Hoping to duplicate that model, the French government has spent some $53 billion on the Rafale, more than the country's $40 billion annual defense budget. But deal after deal has fallen through, with prospective buyers South Korea, Singapore, and Morocco choosing Boeing's (BA) F-15 and Lockheed Martin's (LMT) F-16 over the Rafale.

IAF to Chose From Eurofighter and Rafael: MRCA

After exhaustive trials of six fighter jets, Indian Air Force (IAF) has made its choice clear to the Government on the kind of fighter jets needed. Frontrunners for the force are French fighter Dassault Rafale and the Eurofighter Typhoon built by the European consortium. Bernhard Gerwert, Chief, EADS, says “If you are taking into account the portfolio of EADS we can bring the bridge between civil aviation and military aviation.” But the Americans and Russians have lost out. Boeing’s F18 no longer a frontrunner and Sweden’s Gripen too falling off the Indian radar.

Despite MiG 35s big thunder, its engine failing to impress while the F-16, according to the IAF has no future. Another reason favouring Rafale and Eurofighter is political. Thomas Matussek, German Ambassador, “We regard India as a strategic security partner and this is why we do not insist on an end user monitoring agreement period.” So when the mother of all defence deals is signed for the 126 Multi-Role Combat Aircraft either Rafale or the Eurofighter will fly away with the Rs 42,000 crore deal.

Brazil's Military Future Multi-Billion-Dollar Jet Fighter Deal

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won't decide on the future partner for Brazil's military aircraft industry in a deal that involves a multibillion-dollar jet fighter purchase from the winning bidder.
 Instead Lula is leaving the decision to his successor, President-elect Dilma Rousseff, who takes office Jan. 1, Lula told official television station TV Brasil.



The United States, France and Sweden are in the race to win a contract that includes an option to buy another 100 jets from the successful supplier over the coming decades.

Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf weighed in to support of SAAB's Grippen fighter, French President Nicholas Sarkozy openly canvassed for Dassault's Rafale and White House support behind Boeing's F-18 fighter was widely reported in Brazil.

Lula indicated he favored buying Rafale as France offered the best technology transfer deal and expressed concern the U.S. Congress might block or restrict any Boeing deal. Grippen won support from Brazil's military strategists because of its lower cost. Swedish lobbyists also took mileage out of Queen Silvia's Latin American connection as the offspring of a German father and Brazilian mother.


High-powered lobbyists from the rivals have frequently beaten the path of the capital, Brasilia, but have failed to glean any useful information on which way Brazil would go next year.

"It's a very big debt, it's a long-term debt for Brazil," Lula said in comments cited by Agencia Brazil and MercoPress during the television appearance.

"I could sign off on it and do a deal with France but I'm not going to do that," Lula said. Critics of Rafale say the jet fighter has never been sold outside France and Dassault hopes to use a sale to kick-start a global marketing campaign. Dassault has its eyes on India and Kuwait among potential customers for Rafale.

Lula said the final decision would rest with Brazil's National Defense Council, which includes Cabinet ministers, armed forces commanders and the president.

Defense Minister Nelson Jobim, who has been closely involved with the negotiations with Dassault, Saab NG and the Boeing Co., will continue his job in the new administration.

Jobim echoed Lula's view that the French offer was the best because of its technology transfer package but senior Brazilian air force commanders favored the F-18 despite a smaller technology transfer package. Supporters for cost-effective Grippen also weighed in but analysts said the Swedish bid still faced more critics within Brazil's decision-making machinery.

The choice of a jet fighter for a fast modernizing air force ties in with Rousseff's plans to create a new civil aviation secretariat that will incorporate departments under defense. The plan is part of an urgent strategy to reverse the poor reputation of Brazilian aviation infrastructure ahead of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics.

Officials say the new government is keen to begin an extensive overhaul of Brazilian aviation -- both civil and military -- and promote more sophisticated manufacturing of aircraft for expanding national networks and for export.




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Dassault’s Rafale Back in Indian Fighter Race

he Times of India reported onMay 22 that the Dassault Rafale is back in the race for an Indiangovernment contract to build 126 new medium multirole combat aircraft for the country's Air Force.The paper said that the Rafale had been booted out of thecompetition to supply the jets by the Indian Defence Ministry afterDassault failed to respond properly in its technical bid toward theGSQRs (general staff qualitative requirements) drawn up by the IAF. Thepaper then quoted an unnamed Defense Ministry official stating thatDassault had since supplied missing information and that the Rafalewould now participate in IAF field trials of the competitors.
There will be two sets of field trials, according to The Times. Thefirst set is scheduled for July and August and the second in the winterof 2009-2010. The aircraft will be flown in the mountainous region ofLeh, the hot Rajasthan desert, and the humid region around Bangalore.
After field trials the field of six fighters- the Rafale, the Lockheed Martin F-16, the Boeing F/A-18, Saab's Gripen, the RAC MiG MiG-35, and the Eurofighter Typhoon- will be winnowed down to a short list of three aircraft. Commercialbids by the three remaining candidates will then be opened andevaluated. The IAF would like the aircraft to be delivered by2012-2013, but the evaluation and bidding process is expected to take aminimum of two years. Under the circumstances, a contract cannot beexpected before 2011.
UAE Considering Rafale Jet Fighters
ABU DHABI, UAEs --- According to UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan, discussions between the UAE and Franceabout the possible Emirati purchase of the new generation French Rafalejet fighter are moving ahead. Officials from the UAE made hints in 2008that the tiny Gulf state was considering the acquisition of Rafalefighters as a solution for the replacement of its 60 French-built Mirage combat aircraft. Such a deal is believed to be valued between EUR6-8 billion ($8-11 billion).
France, along with the U.S., is one of the UAE's key arms suppliers.One snag in the potential sale of the Rafale to the UAE for the Frenchis that any deal is likely to be precluded by the demand that Franceeither take back theMirage 2000-9 jets or find a suitable buyer on theglobal market. France, still seeking an export market for its DassaultAviation aircraft, might settle for buying back the surplus Mirages inorder to achieve the sale.

UAE still in talks to buy Rafale planes from France

Abu Dhabi: The United Arab Emirates and France are continuingnegotiations on the Gulf Arab state's potential purchase of FrenchRafale fighter planes, the UAE's foreign minister said on Monday.
"It will take a bit more time" to complete the talks, SheikhAbdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan told AFP ahead of French PresidentNicolas Sarkozy's visit to the Gulf state for talks on bilateralmilitary ties.
A deal would be a major boost for the plane's maker Dassault Aviation, which has yet to sell any Rafales for export.
A Dassault spokesman told AFP on Saturday that "a deal is unlikely in the next few days."
The UAE said in June 2008 that it was "seriously" considering replacing its fleet of 60 Mirage 2000 combat planes with Rafale.
Asked about progress in the talks, Sheikh Abdullah said on thesidelines of the conference that the private sector "would also beinvolved", in reference to Dassault.
Kouchner said he is "not in charge of the matter", while Sarkozy's Elysee office recently said that "there was progress".
Dassault previously held talks with Saudi Arabia, the largest Arab economy, on a possible deal, but the world's top oil exporter eventually opted to buy Eurofighter jets from Britain.
Dassault is also expected to re-enter a race to win a12-billion-dollar fighter plane deal in India after it was disqualifiedfor failure to meet technical requirements.
France is a leading military supplier to the UAE, which bought more than 400 Leclerc tanks from French firm GIAT in 1994.
Sarkozy was due to arrive in the capital later on Monday to inaugurate a French military base, the first in the region, as part of a 1995 defence pact that binds the two countries.

French Rafale Fighter Jet Out Of Race for Biggest IAF Deal

The French Rafale fighter has been knocked out of the race for the'mother of all defence deals', the Rs 42,000 crore (approx. 9 billioneuros—Ed) project to acquire 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) for IAF, leaving five jets in the fray now.Defence ministry (MoD) sources on Thursday said Rafale had “fallenshort” on “several counts” listed in the GSQRs (general staff qualitative requirements) drawn up by IAF. "It did not pass muster in the technical evaluation of the bids submitted by the six contenders," said a source.
The move is sure to rile France, which like other countries in thecontention for what will be the largest global defence contract hadmounted a high-voltage campaign for the $10.4 billion MMRCA contract."We have no confirmation from the Indian MoD... We are extremelysurprised since there was no technical lacuna in our bid," said aFrench official.
Incidentally, India and France arealso yet to settle their bitter differences for the upgrade of the 51Mirage-2000s in IAF's combat fleet despite being locked in negotiationsfor over two years now. Sources said French fighter manufacturerDassault Aviation wants well over Rs 12,000 crore for the project, butIndia is not prepared to pay a penny over Rs 10,000 crore.
As for the MMRCA battle, India will now invite only American F/A-18 Super Hornet (Boeing) and F-16 Falcon (Lockheed Martin), Russian MiG-35 (United Aircraft Corporation), Swedish Gripen (Saab) and Eurofighter Typhoon (consortium of British, German, Spanish and Italian companies) to take part in the field trials which are likely to begin from July-August.
"IAF HQ is drawing up the modalities for the field trials to beginin around three months," said the source. There will be at least twosets of trials conducted in summer and winter, with the five jets beingflown in the snow-capped peaks of Leh, the scorching Rajasthan deserts(probably Jaisalmer) and the humid conditions of south India (probablyBangalore).

The race, of course, is actually quite a marathon. The commercialbids will only be opened, examined and compared after a shortlist ismade of two to three top contenders following the extensive fieldtrials and staff evaluation.
With the final negotiations to begin thereafter, the entire processis expected to take a minimum of two years before the contract isactually inked. IAF hopes to induct the first lot of the new fighters —18 jets will be bought off-the-shelf, while the rest will bemanufactured in India under transfer of technology — by 2012-2013.

Rafale Fighter Flies with Upgraded M88-4E Engine

COURCOURONNES, France: The first test flight of a Rafale fighterpowered by the Snecma (Safran group) M88-4E engine (formerly designatedthe “TCO Pack”, for total cost of ownership) took place on March 22 atthe Istres air base in southern France.

Lasting 1 hour and 30 minutes, the flight was a total success, andwas used to expand the flight envelope. The complete test campaign forthe M88-4E engine comprises some 70 flights in 2010, with different engine configurations. Ten test flights have been carried out to date.
“We are satisfied with the successful initial flights of the M88-4E,the third major engine upgrade, reflecting our continuing focus on research& development. The latest evolution of the engine enables us tobetter meet the expectations of our customer, by helping decrease theRafale’s maintenance costs,” said Didier Desnoyer, Snecma’s VicePresident Military Engines.
The development of the M88-4E is proceeding very satisfactorily. Thefirst ground test of the engine was performed in September 2009.Development engines are now undergoing ground performance and endurancetests, and a series of altitude chamber tests was completed in lateFebruary. Qualification and delivery of the first production-standardM88-4E is now slated for the end of 2011.
In January 2008, French defense procurement agency DGA awardedSnecma the “TCO Pack” contract for the M88-2 engine. The aim of thiscontract was to extend the service life and time between inspectionsfor several parts of the engine. Modifications mainly concern thehigh-pressure compressor and turbine.
Designed for the Rafale multirole fighter, the M88 is the firstmember of a family of new-generation engines intended for 21st centurycombat and advanced training aircraft. The M88-2 now powers all air forceand naval versions of the Rafale. It is particularly well suited tolow-altitude penetration and high-altitude interception missions.
Snecma, a Safran group company, is one of the world’s leadingmanufacturers of aircraft and space engines, with a wide range ofpropulsion systems on offer. The company designs and builds commercial aircraftengines – including the CFM56* world’s leader - that are powerful,reliable, economical and environmentally friendly, along with militaryaircraft engines that have always delivered world-class performance.Snecma also develops and produces propulsion systems and equipment forlaunch vehicles and satellites. Snecma also offers a complete range of engine maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services to airlines, armed forces and operators.