Dassault Aviation remains “cautiously optimistic” that India will proceed with the full medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) requirement for 126 Rafales. So said Eric Trappier, chairman and CEO, at the company’s media briefing ahead of the Paris Air Show today. A senior Indian defense official recently told local media that India would not proceed beyond the 36 aircraft that the country has agreed to take from the French production line.
Trappier expressed hope that the contract for the 36 jets could be signed in September. Dassault is awaiting that event before committing to an early increase in the Rafale production rate. Right now, the company is still planning to maintain the rate at 11 aircraft this year and next year. But six from this year’s production will go to Egypt instead of France, three of them “in the next few weeks,” Trappier confirmed. AIN understands that the other three will be delivered once they have been modified to remove certain, mainly software, provisions for nuclear weapons and NATO communications.
Egypt ordered 24 Rafales in mid-February, and Qatar ordered the same quantity in early May. Happily for Dassault, Egypt wants to take delivery of all of its aircraft by the end of 2018, whereas Qatar does not require deliveries to begin until that year. As for France, the export orders have eased pressure on the defense budget by allowing the deferment of some deliveries. However, Trappier said that France will still receive the scheduled 26 Rafales previewed in the current five-year plan, bringing the total deliveries to the home customer to 152 by the end of 2018.
Amplifying on the negotiations with India on further Rafale production there, Trappier said it is now agreed that Dassault will “take the lead and find local partners.” The MMRCA negotiations previously foundered on whether state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics could take the responsibility of prime contractor. Dassault selected Reliance Industries as a key local partner instead. Trappier suggested that discussions to revive the MMRCA deal could conclude by year-end, though he warned that “we’re walking on eggshells here.”
As for other sales prospects for the French jet, Trappier said that Team Rafale has responded to an RFI from Belgium, and that country is now considering how many fewer aircraft it would need to replace the F-16 and still fulfill its mission set. “The next step should be a genuine competition,” Trappier added. But the Dassault chief was somewhat disparaging about countries that issue requirements and then choose aircraft outside the specification. He was talking about Finland and Switzerland.
Dassault is waiting for a possible tender from Canada, which must first decide whether or not the F-35 is affordable, Trappier said. Kuwait “was going for the F-18 Super Hornet” but then accepted a French offer to demonstrate the Rafale there under very hot conditions in July last year, Trappier explained. “It performed better than many of its competitors,” he claimed. Regarding the long-suggested order from the UAE, Trappier confined himself to commenting that “any country using Mirage 2000s is a prime target for the Rafale.”
