UAE, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi met Sarkozy

Paris, September 27th, Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi met French president, Nicolas Sarkozy. The Rafale sales would have been discussed. 

source : www.khaleejtimes.com/

Switzerland, Budget for 22 new fighter jets approved

Rafale B301 during the Armasuisse trials, october-November 2008

September 28th, the Council of the states approved the budget to order 22 new fighter jets, rejecting the referendum option.
If this order is stated in the 2012 defense program, the winner of the contest should be revealed before February 2012.

The next 4 months might be very hot for the Rafale with 3 major export prospects which could select (or not) the French fighter.

Source : www.lematin.ch/




As a reminder :

India :
126 aircrafts.
Contenders : Rafale, Eurofighter
Decision expected : before the end of the year

UAE :
60 aircrafts.
Contenders : Rafale, F-18E/F, F-16E/F (not an open contest)
Decision expected : possibly before the 2011 Dubai Air show (November 13-17th)

Switzerland :
22 aircrafts.
Contenders : Rafale, Eurofighter, Gripen
Decision expected : before February 2012

Rafale pictures of the day

 Today we have a very nice set of  pictures of the Rafale Solo display team taken at Le Bourget 2011, Sion 2011 and Valenciennes 2009 by photographer Paul Marais-Hayer.
For more aviation pictures (Related to Rafale or not) check his Picassa web albums

Rafale pictures of the day

Nice shots taken by Steve Vonlanthen during the Sion Air show, Switzerland

MMRCA, bids should be opened next month

Sept. 22, Air Chief Marshal Norman Anil Kumar Browne brought some details on the final selection process between the Rafale and the Eurofighter bids :

“We have a meeting of the Defense Acquisition Council on October 7, where some of the issues are going to be discussed. Once those issued are cleared, hopefully by the middle of month, we should be in a position to open the bids. We are in final stages of this process and hopefully [will] be done by the end of the year.”


sources :
aviationweek.com

FX-2, No fighter order in 2012

New York September 23 rd, Brazil president Dilma Rousseff told French President Sarkozy that the purchase of 36 new fighter jets for the Brasilian Air Force  will be put on hold during 2012 unless the economic situation improves :

“Depending on the evolution of the global economic situation, if the crisis turns out to be less severe than some imagine, then those plans can resume next year”

The French Press also reported that  Dilma Rousseff  would have stated to her French conterpart that she would favour the Rafale if the bidding process was to be resumed. 

MMRCA, French general interview about the Indian contest

Nuclear capability, a key feature for India ?

The Times of India has published an interview of the French Air Force chief, General Palomeros. When asked about the Rafale Vs Eurofighter contest, the General provides some interesting points :

How does the Rafale match up with the Eurofighter Typhoon, the two finalists of the Indian MMRCA race?

"Rafale demonstrated its full capability during the Libya operations. We had 90 to 95% serviceability as well as reduced maintenance costs of both Rafales and Mirages. During the first three days, French air force was the only air force flying over Libya. We were able to enforce the no-fly zone as well as strike Gaddafi's forces with precision and minimum collateral damage. Rafale's digital reconnaissance pods provided a lot of intelligence in real-time for the strikes.

I do not want to compare fighters but Rafale was designed as a multi-role platform from the very beginning. It has been a real success, as shown in Afghanistan, Libya and elsewhere. I must also stress Rafale is nuclear-capable. It has real growth potential. France will be more than happy to develop it with India. It is, of course, up to India to now select the best platform it needs."

First, the General claims that the French Air Force was the only Air Force over Libya during the 3 first days of operations. That's very surprising. Officially the First French fighters were deployed on March 19th and other allied aircrafts were involved the next day. Therefore, if it's not a typo, that would mean that the French fighters were flying over Libya since March 17th for intelligence purpose.

It is worth noting that the General see the fact that the Rafale is a nuclear capable platform as a valuable argument for the MMRCA contest. Besides the ability to carry heavy nuclear missile and fuel tank, the nuclear mission also relies on the rafale capability to avoid Air defense systems and penetrates deep inside the Ennemy territory... a skill that could make the difference when India will make her final choice.

Also read : French Air Force General at Aero India