With a command book completed for the next ten years, the French aircraft manufacturer could take advantage of this historical agreement to try to delay the implementation of the future European combat aircraft.
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Analysis. Historical success and regret. Friday, December 3, Dassault Aviation signed the most important military contract in its history by selling 80 burst into the United Arab Emirates. A week later, Friday, December 10, in a brief News Release , the French aircraft manufacturer deplores a European country, Finland , prefers to acquire 64 American combat aircraft, rather than French devices. From the start, the competition was leaning towards the Lockheed Martin F-35 to replace the Boeing F / A-18. A geostrategic choice for Helsinki: These devices will monitor the 1,300 kilometers of borders with Russia.
The sale of combat aircraft is above all a political act. If the United States dominates this market, France has the countries who do not wishing or can not buy American, or those wishing to have a double source of supply. This is the case of the United Arab Emirates. Since its creation here are fifty years, this state has been equipped with a priority of American aircraft, supplemented by Dassault’s mirage.
Seeing the United States of Joe Biden Refocusing more towards Asia-Pacific against China, at the expense of other regions such as the Middle East, has helped to accelerate the negotiations incurred for several months with France. A way of transforming the aircraft into the diplomatic weapon, as did the Egypt of Abdel Fattah Al-Sissi in 2015 by buying gusts to protest the abandonment by Barack Obama of Egyptian President Mubarak at the time of the “Spring Arabs “.
The decision of Abu Dhabi to bring its original request of 60 combat aircraft at 80 is thus interpreted as a brand preferably against the Americans, the French order being superior in number to that of the 50 F-35 which currently negotiate The United States with Emiratis. It also holds for the close proximity between Emmanuel Macron, his Foreign Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, and the Hirier Prince Mohammed Ben Zayed.
Production guaranteed
The benefits of this agreement benefit from the actors of the negotiation, the General Directorate of Armament, the Air Force, and the Three Industrials of the Rafale, Dassault Aviation, as a Project Manager, Saffron , for the motorization, and the electronic equipment manufacturer Thales. Not to mention the MBDA missile manufacturer.
This contract makes it possible to ensure the French program of air equipment, the emirates that ordered the most elaborate version of the burst, the standard F4, which will equip the air force and the national navy. By adding sales, this year, Egypt and Greece, production is guaranteed for at least ten years. The share of French orders – 192 devices on 404 new aircraft in notebook – is now minority, while they represented the entire sales here are still seven years. Which generated questions about the sustainability of the program.
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