After Egypt and India, Qatar has now ordered 24 Rafale fighters, with an option for 12 additional aircraft. The 6.3 billion euro contract (according to a government source) remains as yet unconfirmed by the aircraft manufacturer. The signing between the State of Qatar and Dassault Aviation will take place on Monday, May 4, at Doha, in the presence of Francois Hollande, and Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. MBDA Missiles systems will also be represented at the Élysée Palace (the French President's official residence).
In a statement, the aircraft manufacturer says, « following on from the Mirage F1, the Alpha Jet, and Mirage 2000, the Rafale extends the historic partnership between Qatar, France and Dassault Aviation. »
This is the third export success since the beginning of the year, and more good news for Eric Trappier, head of Dassault Aviation. Success also for the French ministers, Jean-Yves le Drian (Defense), and Laurent Fabius (Foreign Affairs). Laurent Fabius, who on April 12, let slip a short sentence from the sidelines of a meeting with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, which left no doubt as to the outcome of the negotiations: « There is a proverb in France that says, every thing comes in three’s. I strongly believe that. »
500 companies form part of the Rafale programme, including Thales and Safran. The total number of Rafale export orders, picked up since the beginning of the year, now stands at 84.
With all this work, Dassault Aviation will now have to ramp-up their Merignac (near Bordeaux, south west France) assembly lines, which today produces one plane a month, but has the capacity to produce 2.5.
