Reply With QuoteIMO if there is one field in which Russia doesn't need help right now, it is in Jets and in tracked armored vehicles...Originally Posted by medo
Maybe France could sell some Rafales to Russia. They are 100% french and Russia is now more open to buy foreign equipment.
IMO if there is one field in which Russia doesn't need help right now, it is in Jets and in tracked armored vehicles...
I know, but it's about politics and alliances. Similar to Mistral or Iveco LMV.
And that is surprising? Similiar things happend before, be it caused by Dassault or the French habit to combine deals with each other. I even told you before that the only problem for Rafale in India is actually Dassault and France itself, because it's obvious that India wants to have a deeper industrial partnership/relation than they had in the past with foreign countries and France/Dassault are prefered partners in this field.
However, Dassault prefered to focus on the UAE much more, although they have no need to buy a new fighter at all! They are more than happy with the Mirage and buying Rafale in this situation leaves them with the better arguments. That's why they are asking for so many compromises and side advantages next to the reduction of the unit price (more landing rights of their airlines, customisations on Rafale, buying back the Mirage fighters...). They and several French officials confirmed that the only issue now is costs and every time that was an issue we saw news like the current reports:
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=7022074UAE May Buy More F-16s
PARIS - The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is now talking with Lockheed Martin about buying more F-16 fighter aircraft because France's offer of an advanced version of the Rafale combat jet is seen as too expensive, said a source familiar with the negotiations in the gulf...
http://www.defencetalk.com/uae-rafal...-hornet-28841/UAE May Turn Away from Rafale as Interest is Expressed in Super Hornet
NEWTOWN, Conn.: The United Arab Emirates has requested technical information on the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, indicating it wants competition in its search to replace its fleet of Mirage 2000-9 jets first purchased from French company Dassault in 1983...
And now the EF was hyped in the media for exactly the same reason and not because they really want it as a fighter, but since they have no need to hurry, they simply keep on playing their games and get more and more out of this deal.
New infos from Jean Guisnel, Le Point:
1) Technical negotiations were ferocious but are completed.
- Engine 7.5 t
- Meteor
- Radar improvements funded by France
- No Damocles NG ( i think he's talking of Damocles XF, will they use the Sniper instead ? this part is poorly explained )
2) Alain Juppe in charge of 2 negotiations:
- To complete the sale to UAE
- To ensure the resale of the UAE Mirage 2000-9 to the Libyan Army (source: Tactical Report and confirmed in Paris)
3) Dassault intransigent about the price:
The commercial organization would be deficient . Guisnel suggests that the (arrogant) culprit would be Eric Trappier, international director of Dassault in charge of negotiations with the UAE. ( but also with India and Switzerland ...) Guisnel says also that neither Sarkozy nor Juppé would be able to influence Edelstenne and Serge Dassault to withdraw Trappier from the negotiations with the UAE. (confirmed by Tactical Report)
It's a bit scary, one wonders how it is going in India ...
Well, it's also the first time I see infos coming from "tactical Report" taken up and confirmed by French sources, and vice versa.
http://www.lepoint.fr/chroniqueurs-d...1397438_53.php
Google translated from:Rafale perform a big show at Dubai
Armee Air, Nov 17
It won the majority of the votes! In the opinion of many experts in the Dubai Airshow 2011, the Rafale offers the most impressive flying display of UAE Airshow.
On the applause meter, the French fighter is ahead of many other aircrafts (F15, F16, Typhoon, Mirage 2000-9, ...).
"The purpose of the Rafale Solo Display is to demonstrate both the skill of the pilots of the french Air force and the quality of the fighter, said the captain Mickael Brocard, official display pilot of the Rafale. I must make the best flight possible, while ensuring maximum safety. For this, I push my plane to its limits. " For Captain Brocard, this limit is around ten G. Indeed, the most spectacular tricks impose a load factor equal to more than ten times its weight: a threshold that neither he nor the unit can not exceed.
To achieve such performance, a rigorous mental preparation is essential. So, before boarding his plane, the Rafale display pilot prepares himself internally, mimicking silently on the ground the gestures he will repeat in the air.
Once in the air, Captain Brocard draws the quintessence of his plane. "If the presentation is so dynamic, it is primarily due to the flight controls. They allow to operate in a very small space and to chain the exercises very quickly. The power of both engines also makes possible very fast passages alternatively with slowers. "
As the season comes to the end (a last date is set for an international show in Malaysia in December), the captain takes a very positive assessment of the flights made. "We have chained the air shows throughout the summer. It was wonderful to meet so many aviation enthusiasts and see the public's enthusiasm for the flights we do. "
[...]
http://www.defense.gouv.fr/air/actus...-dubai-airshow
http://www.thenational.ae/thenationa...cerning-buyersA well-armed UAE military requires discerning buyers
The National/Ahmed Al Attar , Nov 18
A stereotypical view of Arab arms acquisitions is that they are made on an ad- hoc basis to serve long-term political and strategic interests and to please their defence partners. But the UAE military has broken with this trend, consistently making informed and critical decisions about what weapons to purchase.
The most recent sign of this came this week, when Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Commander of the Armed Forces, said a French company's bid to supply the UAE with fighter jets was "uncompetitive".
Purchasing weaponry is a great responsibility. Buyer countries must make sure that they are able to operate, support and equip the weapons platforms they are investing in, and that these weapons platforms are relevant to their defence needs. Even countries as big as the US can make strategic errors when it comes to arms purchases.
But the UAE's armed forces seem to be a very difficult customer, utilising various methods to select the best weapons platforms and also to ensure as much technology transfer as possible.
And the armed forces have not been shy about playing off contractors against each other, and reducing dependence on any single contractor.
[...]
As recent press reports - including one in The National yesterday - have made clear, the UAE has driven the hardest bargain possible when discussing the potential acquisition of the French Rafale fighter jet.
This plane was widely expected to replace the single-seater Mirage 2000-9 fighter jets currently employed in the UAE Air Force, and which recently served in Libya. The UAE has insisted that Dassault, the company selling the jets, find buyers for all 58 Mirage 2000-9s, and then provide it with a heavily upgraded Rafale fighter - at no additional cost. The UAE is reportedly keeping its options open by expressing interest in the Eurofighter Typhoon and the F/A-18 and F-15E.
We will have to wait and see how this high-stakes contest to provide the UAE with its next generation fighters shakes out. But one thing is already clear: the UAE will get its money's worth.
Ahmed Al Attar is an Emirati defence affairs commentator
lol he sounds like a guy who was officially appointed for explanations.
About SPECTRA and SEAD missions in Libya
Finally confirmed. SPECTRA really is quite an achievement and invaluable assetSuch was the confidence of the
French aircrews in their new
mount that all missions were
conducted without any support
from dedicated electronic warfare
and SEAD (Suppression of Enemy
Air Defences) assets: thanks to its
Spectra state-of-the-art electronic
warfare/self-defence suite, the
Rafale was able to operate at
will in a dangerous environment,
against a dense network of deadly
surface-to-air missile systems.
Even more significant is the fact
that the Rafale was able to accurately
locate enemy air-defence
systems and engage them."
"Such is the quality of the Spectra
electronic warfare suite that the
Rafale literally disappeared from
the radar screens of the Libyan Air
Force while performing ‘soft kills’ on
the enemy radar systems. Spectra
relies on advanced jamming modes
and jamming techniques to defeat
hostile weapon systems and to
hide the progression and whereabouts
of the fighter."
Is there a french version of this newsletter ?
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displaya...on=theuae&col=UAE stresses ‘strategic relationship’ with France
WAM/AFP
ABU DHABI - The UAE Foreign Minister, Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan met with Alain Juppe, French Foreign Minister on the sidelines of the second edition of the annual Sir Bani Yas Forum at the Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort.
During the meeting, Shaikh Abdullah hailed friendship bonds the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and President Nicolas Sarkozy of the French Republic.
He also commended the strategic ties between UAE and France and the outstanding level reached in all areas, stressing the importance of the continuing work to develop and boost bilateral relations between the two countries.
Juppe arrived in the UAE on Saturday for talks on bilateral relations and the escalating crisis in Syria.
[...]
http://www.expatica.com/fr/news/fren...ce_189790.html
Good ? bad ?
Last edited by Olybrius; 11-20-2011 at 05:39 AM.
Quick synthesis done by Rafale News blog :
http://rafalenews.blogspot.com/2011/...m-updates.html
RBE-2 ASA
- Performance evaluation passed
- A2A detection/range exeed expectations
- A2G and terrain following modes also tested
- First production Rafale C delivered with an AESA in 2012
- First production Rafale M delivered with an AESA in 2013
- Qualification expected early 2013
- First French Airforce squadron operational with the AESA in early 2014
Meteor
- First flight envelope expension done in early 2011 (including carrier trials)
- First batch of 200 Missiles ordered
- Operational service expected in 2016
AM-39 Exocet block 2 mod 2
- Integration on Rafale completed
- Final operational evaluation in early 2012
- Operational on French Navy Rafale in mid-2012
- French Navy Pilot training with the missile has already started
- Link 16 targeting from AEW aircrafts (E-2, ATL-2) is developed
DDM-NG (New Generation Missile Detector)
- increase range and field of view / decrease false alerts
- In flight testing in progress (2nd data gathering campaign completed in early 2011)
AASM
- Extensively used in Libya by French Air Force and Navy Rafale (225 units fired)
- success rate very close to 100%
- GPS/INS/IIR variant operational since mid-2011
- 800 units of the 250kg type delivered (3400 ordered)
- Range >50km for the 250kg type (57km demonstrated in Libya)
- GPS/INS/Laser version
- Qualification phase in 2012
- Operational service entry in 2013
- 15km range with 90° of boresight release demonstrated against a 80km/h target with an acuracy of 1 meter
- First firing trials of the 125 kg variant completed (80km range demonstrated)
- 1000kg version development expected rapidly
- New guidance kit for antiship attack considered with datalink capability
Rover
- Rover system fully operational on Rafale
- Rover terminal fitted to the Rafale airframe (not the LDP) and thus also allows radar or FSO images to be transmitted to the FAC
Libya campaign
- All missions were operated without any dedicated SEAD and EW support thanks to Spectra
- Spectra Allowed accurate detection, location and attack of Libyan Air defenses
- Spectra jammer allowed soft kills of the Libyan radar systems
- GBU-12 used for dynamic targeting
- AASM used against high value well-defended targets and SAM system (SA-3/SA-6)
- Damocles pod used for laser targetting (GBU-12), identification and target GPS coordinates extraction (AASM)
- Half of the Rafale M missions performed at night
- Rafale considered as a key tool for ISTAR missions (Intelligence, Surveillance, Taget acquisition, Reconnaissance)
http://livefist.blogspot.com/2011/11...e-upgrade.htmlMissile Deal This Week, Mirage Upgrade Starts Next Month
Livefist , Nov 21
As revealed by the IAF chief last week, two Indian Air Force Mirage 2000s will leave for France next month to begin the long-delayed Mirage upgrade programme that India signed with Dassault, Thales and HAL in July this year. The Indian upgrade team has been in France for a while now training and absorbing the upgrade routine. A deal for MICA air-to-air missile, which remained unsigned when the Mirage upgrade deal was concluded, is also expected to be cleared this week.
Sadly nothing about the A2G weapons, which would have been more interesting in regard to Rafale. If India goes for Scalp, AASM or the Damocles pod for the Mirage, it would increase the commonality even more.
Do French Mirages use the AASM? I thought it was Rafale-only
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