Tuesday, September 20, 2011

DTN News - UAE DEFENSE NEWS: Dassault Close To UAE Deal On Rafale Jets - Paper

DTN News - UAE DEFENSE NEWS: Dassault Close To UAE Deal On Rafale Jets - Paper
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - September 20, 2011: Dassault Aviation is expected to put an offer to sell about 60 Rafale fighterjets to the United Arab Emirates this month, in a sign that negotiations are progressing, Les Echos newspaper reported on Thursday.

Last month another French newspaper said an agreement could be reached between September and the end of the year.

No one at Dassault was immediately available to comment

The UAE has been in talks with Dassault since 2008 over the purchase of 60 Rafale jets, estimated at 10 billion dollars, to replace the fleet of Mirage 2000s they bought in 1983.

French Defence Minister Gerard Longuet said in July the United Arab Emirates was France's best bet in the short term for clinching an export deal for the Rafale. (Reporting by Caroline Jacobs; Editing by Will Waterman)

Potential customers (Wikipedia)

Dassault Rafale Taxies to the runway for take off at Aero India 2011, Yelahanka Air force base Bangalore.

The Rafale is one of the six fighter jets competing for India's tender for 126 multi-role fighters. In April 2009, media reports surfaced stating that the Indian Air Force (IAF) had disqualified Rafale from the competition for not meeting minimum performance requirements of the IAF.[46] However, India's Defence Ministry dismissed these media reports and said that the Rafale was still in the race for the contract.[47] In April 2011, the IAF shortlisted Dassault Rafale and Eurofighter Typhoonfor the $12 billion contract.[48]

In January 2006, the French newspaper Journal du Dimanche reported that Libya wanted to order 13–18 Rafales "in a deal worth as much as $3.24 billion".[49] In December 2007, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi openly declared the Libyan interest in the Rafale.[50] Greece has also expressed an interest in the French fighter, possibly in exchange for its fleet of Mirages.[51] Libya did not order any Rafales; ironically, less than three years later during a Libyan uprising of 2011 in 2011, French Rafales were dispatched over Libya as a part of the 2011 military intervention in Libya; missiles such as SCALP EG were deployed from carrier-based Rafales.[52] During 2006, the British Royal Navy considered the Rafale as an alternative to the F-35 JSF, but decided to proceed with the F-35.[53][54] However the aircraft carriers will be modified in order to operate CATOBAR aircraft such as Rafales.[55]

In February 2007, it was reported that Switzerland was considering the Rafale and other fighters to replace its F-5 Tiger IIs.[56] The one month evaluation started in October 2008 at Emmen Airforce Base consisting of approx. 30 evaluation flights. The Rafale along with the Gripen and the Eurofighter were to be evaluated.[57] In September, La Tribune reported that a sale to Morocco had fallen through, the government selecting the F-16 instead.[58] In October 2007, La Tribune's earlier report appeared to have been confirmed that the Rafale would not be bought.[59]

In January 2008, O Estado de S. Paulo reported that the Brazilian Defence Minister visited France to discuss the possibility of acquiring Rafale fighters for the F-X2 program. In June 2008, the Brazilian Air Force divulged a Request For Information to the following companies and their aircraft: F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and F-35 Lightning II, Dassault Rafale, Su-35, Gripen NG and Eurofighter Typhoon.[60] In October 2008, it was reported that Brazilian Air Force had selected three finalists for F-X2; Dassault Rafale, Gripen NG and Boeing F/A-18E/F.[61] On 7 September 2009, during a visit by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Brazil announced a pact with France and that the nations are in contract negotiations to buy 36 Rafales.[62] The crash of two Rafales in the Mediterranean off Perpignan on 24 September 2009 after a midair collision, comes at a delicate time for the Brazil-France negotiations.[63] On 5 January 2010, media reports stated that the final evaluation report by the Brazilian Air Force placed the Gripen ahead of the other two contenders. The decisive factor was apparently the overall cost of the new fighters, both in terms of unit cost, and operating and maintenance costs.[64][65] Some sources say that Rafale was chosen by the Defense Ministry,[66] but there has been no confirmation on this. In February, 2011, the press announced that the new president of Brazil,Dilma Rousseff, had decided in favor of the American F-18 fighter.[67] On 28 February 2011, the Minister of Finance, Guido Mantega, said the issue would not be resolved in the current year, citing "lack of resources", due to budgetary constraints for the new fiscal year.[68]

In February 2009, French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced that Kuwait was considering buying up to 28 Rafales, but with no firm order then. The same month, France offered Rafales to Oman to replace its ageing fleet of SEPECAT Jaguars.[69] But in 2010, Oman prefers to order the Typhoon.[70]

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) was interested in a version of the Rafale that would be upgraded with more powerful engines and radar and advanced air to air missiles.[71] They have now started to explore a purchase of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.[72] This is reported to be because France's Defense Minister Hervé Morin has asked the UAE to pay 2 billion euros of the total cost to upgrade the Rafale.[73]

Leaked United States State Department cables have said that "French representatives have tried to spin the Rafale's dismal performance in the global market to be the result of U.S. government political pressure rather than the aircraft's shortcomings".[74]

[EDIT]VARIANTS

Rafale B/C
Rafale A
A technology demonstrator that first flew in 1986. It has now been retired.
Rafale D
Dassault used this designation (D for discret or stealthy) in the early 1990s for the production versions for the Armée de l'Air, to emphasise the new semi-stealthy features they had added to the design.
Rafale B
This is the two-seater version for the Armée de l'Air; delivered to ECE 05.330 in 2004.
Rafale C
This is the single-seat version for the Armée de l'Air; delivered to ECE 05.330 in June 2004.
Rafale M
This is the carrier-borne version for the Aéronavale, which entered service in 2002. The Rafale M weighs about 500 kg (1,100 lb) more than the Rafale C. Very similar to the Rafale C in appearance, the M differs in the following respects:
  • Strengthened to withstand the rigors of carrier-based aviation
  • Stronger landing gear
  • Longer nose gear leg to provide a more nose-up attitude for catapult launches
  • Deleted front centre pylon (to give space for the longer gear)
  • Large stinger-type tailhook between the engines
  • Built-in power operated boarding ladder
  • Carrier microwave landing system
  • "Telemir" inertial reference platform that can receive updates from the carrier systems.
Rafale N
The Rafale N, originally called the Rafale BM, was planned to be a two-seater version for the Aéronavale. Budget constraints and the cost of training extra crew members have been cited as the grounds for its cancellation.

[EDIT]OPERATORS

France
180 ordered, 93 delivered as of December 2010[75]


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DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: US Air Force Vows To Spare F-35 From Budget Cuts

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: US Air Force Vows To Spare F-35 From Budget Cuts
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - September 20, 2011: The US Air Force vowed Monday to "protect" costly weapons programs despite budget pressures, saying the country needed the F-35 fighter jet, a long-range bomber and other aircraft.

While acknowledging the need for reductions to the defense budget, Air Force Secretary Michael Donley proceeded to list several big ticket programs that were not up for negotiation.

"There are certain capabilities we will protect. We will apply best military judgment to oppose reductions that would cause irreparable harm," Donley told retired members of the Air Force in a speech.

The firm line taken by Donley comes as the Pentagon seeks to fend off possible deep budget reductions by lawmakers. Congress has to find a way to trim the country's deficit by a November 23 deadline or else automatic cuts will be triggered that could derail the Pentagon's budget plans.

With an aging fleet of fighter planes, it was crucial to build the next generation combat aircraft, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, to ensure US air superiority, Donley said.

"With a fighter fleet now averaging 22 years old and with two decades of declining fighter force structure, modernizing our aging and smaller fighter force depends on the fifth generation capabilities of the Joint Strike Fighter," Donley said.

"Simply put, there is no alternative to the F-35 program. It must succeed," he said of the aircraft, which has been plagued by cost overruns and delays.

The F-35 has come under growing scrutiny amid speculation that the Pentagon may be forced to downsize the program, including possibly eliminating a version of the plane designed for short takeoffs and vertical landings.

The civilian head of the Air Force also argued for maintaining funds for a planned long-range bomber, space satellites, nuclear forces, unmanned robotic aircraft and benefits promised to service members when they joined.

Donley said that budget reductions would require the Air Force to accept "greater risk in some areas, terminate some lower priority programs, streamline others," but did not provide details.

In his speech to the Air Force Association, Donley also said that within 10 years the force could be "potentially smaller than in previous decades" but did not offer an estimate.

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