Dassault on the Qatar deal

It's official, French President François Hollande Will go to Doha next Monday to oversee the signature of a deal estimated at € 6.3 billion  for 24 aircrafts (and 12 options), weapons and pilot training in France.

Qatar had been actively negociating with France for 2 years and the decision would have been finaly taken by Cheikh Tamim ben Hamad Al Thani on April 21st during the last visit of French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian in Qatar.



Here is the Tweet by Dassault, and the press release :

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Qatar has chosen the Rafale 

Saint-Cloud, France, April 30, 2015 - Dassault Aviation is honored by Qatar’s decision to acquire 24 Rafale aircraft to equip its Air Force. The contract between the State of Qatar and Dassault Aviation is to be signed on Monday, May 4 in Doha in the presence of Mr. François Hollande, President of the French Republic. Following on from the Mirage F1, the Alpha Jet and the Mirage 2000, the Rafale is set to extend the historic partnership between Qatar, France and Dassault Aviation.

“This new success for the French team demonstrates the Rafale’s operational qualities and confirms the confidence that countries, that are already users of the Mirage 2000, have in our company”, said Eric Trappier, Chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation.

Dassault Aviation, its partners Thales and Safran, and the 500 companies associated with the Rafale programme, are delighted at the announcement of this new contract, constituting further proof of their competitiveness and their industrial and technological know-how.
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This is is the third Rafale order in 3 months for a total of 84 aircrafts.

• Egypt : 24 aircrafts (Announced on 2015/02/12 ; contract signed 2015/02/16)
• India : 36 aircrafts (Announced on 2015/04/10 ; contract still to be signed)
• Qatar : 24 aircrafts (Announced on 2015/04/30 ; contract to be signed on 2015/05/04)

Eric Trappier, CEO of Dassault Aviation, indicated today that Egypt and Qatar jets can be delivered by just delaying the French orders. However the production will have to double (22 aicrafts / year) when India will have formaly signed ; a significant production increase that would generate thousands of new jobs in the French aerospace industry.

Sources :
www.lopinion.fr
www.franceinfo.fr
aviationweek.com
www.defense-aerospace.com
foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com