It’s a “investment of more than 5 billion euros”. The French Ministry of the Armed Forces has placed an order for 42 additional Rafale combat aircraft, announced Friday January 12 the Minister of the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, on the social network.
This order, planned for a long time and included in the 2023 budget, brings to 234 the number of these devices produced by Dassault Aviation ordered by Paris since the start of the program. Deliveries should take place between 2027 and 2032.
In detail, the contract concerns the order of 30 aircraft for “tranche 5” of Rafale equipment for the French army, as well as 12 aircraft intended to replace the Rafale of the Air Force sold from occasion in 2021 in Croatia.
“7,000 jobs in more than 400 companies in France”
“First major order financed by the LPM [loi de programmation militaire]it illustrates French industrial excellence and contributes to more than 7,000 jobs in more than 400 companies in France”welcomed Sébastien Lecornu on.
For Eric Trappier, CEO of Dassault Aviation, the Rafale is an instrument of “sovereignty” for France. “This military industrial sovereignty constitutes an exception in Europe. It ensures the superiority of our combat aviation. It is also an asset of diplomatic influence and economic power with exports”he declares in a statement.
The Rafale is a so-called “multirole” combat aircraft, capable of carrying out air defense, reconnaissance or bombing missions. Capable, in its Navy version, of taking off from an aircraft carrier, it is also the vector of French nuclear deterrence.