France considers the twin-motor delta-wing Rafale a state-of-the-art warplane but has struggled to find any foreign buyers to support the project that has so far cost over 40 billion euros (53 billion dollars).

Longuet said maintenance arrangements would continue for all completed aircraft and that French Rafale orders alone would keep the production line going until 2018 "at least".

Then "it will be over for the manufacturer, not for the user," he said of the plane that has been deployed in NATO operations in Afghanistan and Libya

It is mainly built by Dasault, electronics company Thales and motor manufacturer Snecma, part of the Safran group, but a total of over 1,500 French companies are involved in the programme.

Longuet insisted that the Rafale remained in competition with European manufacturer EADS' Eurofighter Typhoon for a large Indian contract and that "we are in tough negotiations with the United Arab Emirates".

However, the UAE, which was said to be in final talks with France to buy 60 Rafales, said last month that the French offer was unworkable and uncompetitive.

A US cable leaked by Wikileaks in 2010 quoted King Hamad of Bahrain as mocking the Rafale as "yesterday's technology".

Switzerland in November became the latest country to choose another fighter over the Rafale, opting for the Swedish-made Saab Gripen to replace its ageing fleet.

The Rafale and Typhoon are in the final stage of a massive duel to meet India's 126-unit medium multi-role combat aircraft requirement. Final bids were opened earlier last month, with a decision possible within weeks.

Asked why Dassault was having trouble selling the plane abroad, Longuet said the multirole jet was "more expensive than American planes which are produced in much greater numbers."

"While we order 200 Rafales for a 10-15 year programme, the Americans make 3,000 aircraft," he said.

"However, for top level missions of high military value, the Rafale is undeniably well-positioned."

Development of the Rafale began in the 1980s, with a first prototype built in 1991. The first plane for delivery to the French military rolled off the production line in 1998.

France considers the twin-motor delta-wing Rafale a state-of-the-art warplane but has struggled to find any foreign buyers to support the project that has so far cost over 40 billion euros (53 billion dollars).

abonnes.lemonde.fr . . .
Taken from "Le Monde".
Brazilian President tilting for F-18 over Rafale.
More than just an ordinary open-and-shut deal.

The Brazilian decision on the possible purchase of French Rafale combat aircraft, which was expected in the spring, was postponed until "early 2012", announced Saturday, July 9th Brazilian Minister of Defense. Asked about the timing of the decision on the margins of Economic Forum of Aix-en-Provence, Nelson Azevedo Jobim said that it would intervene early next year.


He said the new report by the political change brought about by the election in November as president of Brazil Dilma Rousseff, the successor to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. "At the moment, we focus on domestic issues, with the new government," he justified. The Dassault Rafale is competing with the F/A-18 Super Hornet from Boeing and Gripen NG Saab of Sweden, a market estimated between four and seven billion dollars.

France has so far not managed to export its combat aircraft and Prime Minister Francois Fillon told the Paris Air Show in late June that Paris hopes to do soon. France has promised Brazil a technology transfer "without limit" to try to win the tender. "The main need for us is technology transfer," said Nelson Jobim, without wanting to know if any of the three proposals differed from the other.

Rousseff SEEMS TO BE FOR THE F-18 FOR BOEING

The Rafale seemed to be favored by former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. But Dilma Rousseff, who succeeded him, seemed to be in favor of the F-18 and Boeing announced that it would reflect further on the proposals. Since taking office in January, Dilma Rousseff Brazil is working to bring the United States.

India has shortlisted the end of April the Rafale and the Eurofighter Typhoon European consortium for a contract of 126 fighter planes for a total of 11 billion dollars (7.7 billion euros). Negotiations are underway on the other hand for the sale of Rafale in the UAE.