With 284 aircraft ordered for export since 2015 for 7 countries, the combat aircraft Rafale, long criticized even at the highest level of the State, is now considered a huge success for Dassault Aviation, flirting with the export success of the Mirage 2000 and its 286 aircraft exported to 8 countries. If the orders placed over the last two years by Egypt (30 aircraft), Greece (24 aircraft including 12 second-hand compensated), Croatia (12 second-hand aircraft compensated), Indonesia (42 aircraft) and above all the United Arab Emirates with 80 aircraft for a record contract of €13,5 billion, have ensured the sustainability and activity of the Merignac production chain until beyond 2030, especially as the French air forces are waiting to their share 81 new Rafale over the same period.
However, the Team Rafale, which brings together around Dassault Aviation 500 companies including the engine manufacturer Safran, the electronics manufacturer Thales and the missile manufacturer MBDA, has not finished with export contracts, and the year 2023 could see some of these prospects underway be converted into a new customer and future operator of the French aircraft. Indeed, from India to Serbia, from Egypt to Colombia, from Iraq and Saudi Arabia, numerous discussions and competitions, more or less close to being successful, concern the acquisition of French plane, with a very real chance that the final arbitration and the signing of a contract will take place during the year 2023. In this article, we will take stock of these different prospects, and their chance of succeeding in favor of Rafale over the coming year.
1: India: 26 Rafale M and 36/57/114 Rafale B / C
While the last of the 36 Rafale F3R ordered for the Indian Air Force in 2016 was delivered a few days ago, the Dassault aircraft is engaged in two major competitions in the country, with very real chances of success in the short term. Firstly, the embedded version of the device, the Rafale M, is now the clear favorite in the competition which pits it against the Boeing F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet to equip the new Indian aircraft carrier, the INS Vikrant, while the Indian naval forces have very officially announced that le Rafale had shown itself to be “more adapted to the needs” at the end of an intense test campaign in Goa. Initially aiming for an order of 57 aircraft, the Indian requirement was reduced to 26 fighters intended to ensure the transition until the entry into service of the Twin-Engined Deck Based Fighter, or TEDBF, the new on-board fighter being designed by the DRDO, and which should enter service at the beginning of the next decade, if all goes well.
Beyond the needs of the Indian Navy, the Rafale is also involved in the MMCA 2 competition for the local manufacture of 114 medium fighters, a competition which was launched after the failure of industrial negotiations around the MMRCA program, which had already seen the Rafale impose oneself. While the IAF already operates 36 aircraft Rafale adapted to its own needs, and that it has a maintenance infrastructure capable of supporting more than a hundred aircraft of this type, the Dassault fighter is regularly considered the favorite in this competition which pits it against the Typhoon, the Gripen and a version of the F-16 designated F-21. To date, the exact scope of this competition remains unclear, since it would be a question of reducing the order to 57 devices, a number below the threshold of 100 devices considered by Dassault as allowing a local invoice. However, even if the competition were to escape the Rafale, whether canceled or assigned to another device, a new order for Rafale B/C for the IAF would remain relevant, while state-to-state discussions between Paris and New Delhi have been underway on this subject since 2020.
2: Serbia: 12 Rafale B / C
There are 75% of this article left to read, Subscribe to access it!
The Classic subscriptions provide access to
articles in their full version, and without advertising,
from €1,99. Subscriptions Premium also allow access to archives (articles over two years old)
[…] of the future Next Generation Fighter of the SCAF program, even taking into consideration the remaining export potential of the Rafale on the international scene. In other words, if Rafale Additional will most likely be delivered to the Hunt […]
[…] less than a week ago, we listed in an article the potential future contracts of the Rafale for the year 2023. Among the 6 countries cited, Colombia was then the one which presented the probable deadlines […]
[…] However, the Team Rafale, which brings together around Dassault Aviation 500 companies including the engine manufacturer Safran, the electronics manufacturer Thales and the missile manufacturer MBDA, has not finished with export contracts, and the year 2023 could see some of these prospects underway be converted into a new customer and future operator of the French aircraft. READ MORE. […]
[…] […]