the biggest selling point for the rafale jet is that it bypasses a possible american embargo
said boat travers it is better not to rely solely on the us for defense equipment if
washington imposes economic sanctions rafale like the russian system allows people to diversify
he said overall rafale sales are better now because there's a growing market said vote travers
the real test of how to evaluate how well french aircraft perform in a competitive
market is to look at the countries where dassault has found new buyers
lockheed martin has sold nearly 1000 f-35s worldwide not counting orders from the us army
itself and more orders mean u.s manufacturers can do what to sew aviation can't lower their
prices the f35a model costs less than 80 million dollars 70 million euros this puts rafale in an
uncomfortable position the f-35 is cheaper newer has been in service for only 15 years and 40
more efficient according to estimates by swiss authorities explains vote travers both aircraft
occupy the same market niche multi-purpose or omnipurpose fighter jets using the official daso
aviation jargon during a single mission they are capable of establishing air superiority
a traditional fighter jet mission as well as conducting bombing and ground support operations
but the f-35 is also a stealth fighter which is not the case with the rafale
and has a greater range the main advantage of the french aircraft is strategic
until 2015 dasso aviation struggled and that wasn't a lack of effort whether in brazil
india or the uae been ongoing with abu dhabi since 2008 the rafale is deemed too expensive
it costs around 100 million euros not to mention its maintenance costs
which are among the highest on the market according to a report published in the journal
published by the university of toulon in 2011 its competitors such as the multinational euro fighter
swedish griffin fighter and american jet often sell for less than 100 million euros
in fact french aircraft are locked in a vicious circle
daso aviation needs more orders before economies of scale allow it to be sold at lower prices
but countries are reluctant to commit to buying because of the price and the sale of jets to the
french military alone will never be big enough eventually the rafale showed its usefulness in
libya and afghanistan as the first decades of the 2000s ended generating more international interest
its performance in combat conditions was a tipping point according to the business delilah tribune
in 2015 egypt became the first rafale buyer outside the french military
buying around 20 jets other contracts follow with india qatar greece and croatia until the uae this
week becomes the sixth member of rafale's foreign customer club this latest contract means more
rafale jets are now sold overseas than in france 236 international sales versus 192 domestic sales
qatar's air force modernization program began in 2015 qatar agreed to purchase 24 rafale multi-role
jets from daso aviation for 6 billion in 2018 another 12 rafales were ordered bringing the total
number of rafales to 36. qatar also has the option to purchase another 36 rafales greece became
the first european buyer of france's rafales in january 2021 when it reached a 2.8 billion deal to
buy 18 warplanes greece will buy 12 used jets from the french air force inventory and six new jets by
the end of 2022 under the terms of the arrangement the sale of 80 rafale fighter jets to the united
arab emirates is not only considered historic but also appears to confirm the continued commercial
success of the french fighter a twin jet that can operate from both land and aircraft carriers
dassault was initially unable to export the rafale outside of france the company's mirage
jets were popular in the 1970s but the rafale didn't have the same success the fact that it
is more expensive than its american rival as a major hurdle to its export prospects according to
a paper published by the university of toulon in 2011 the market value of the rafale is around 100
million euros placing it among the most expensive fighter jets in the world competitors such as the
european eurofighter swedish gripen and american jets typically sell for less than 100 million
euros france is said to have spent more than 50 billion on the rafale development a hefty
sum for a country that spends about 60 billion dollars on defense every year this has been a
major problem during president nicolas sarkozy's tenure as the country faces economic difficulties
but the rise of the rafale once described as a cursed plane and now considered a success
story is less impressive in the context of the wider international arms market says
alexander vogtravers weapons expert and editor of the swiss military this achievement is far
below the direct competition starting with the american f-35 made by lockheed martin
which was announced at the same time he told france24