LSaudi Arabia buying French fighter jets would be a major economic war prize for Dassault Aviation and a political blow for France. The Wahhabi kingdom plans to acquire 54 Rafale and asks the aircraft manufacturer to make a quantified offer before November 10, revealed La Tribune Sunday of October 22, “discussions” confirmed by the Minister of the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, without further details.
There is a “Gust moment”, welcomed the CEO of the manufacturer at the end of August, who had to wait for the Egyptian order (in 2015) to export his first examples. Eric Trappier says he is convinced that the omnirole aircraft (air defense, reconnaissance, nuclear deterrence, anti-ship warfare, etc.) is an alternative to American and Russian aircraft. To the point of giving ” priority “ to the fifth generation of Rafale planned for 2030, relegating to the background the air combat system of the future carried out within the European framework with the German Airbus Defense and Space and the Spanish Indra.
Ranked fifth in the world among arms buyers
A sale to Riyadh would firstly be a commercial success. Less important than the 80 aircraft acquired by the United Arab Emirates, certainly, but of the same magnitude as the orders from Egypt and India, which is currently finalizing the purchase of 26 additional aircraft. Rich in its petrodollars and with a defense budget of 70 billion dollars (66 billion euros) in 2022, increasing for the first time since 2018, Saudi Arabia is the fifth largest arms buyer in the world. .
The operation would also reinforce the strategic choice of General de Gaulle at the start of the Ve Republic: a complete army model based on an industry capable of providing almost all of its equipment. As manufacturers cannot live on national orders alone, it involves significant exports of military equipment. The Rafale fulfills this role, since, out of 453 orders, the 261 deliveries abroad exceed those of the French air force and navy.
Finally, it would be a political success for Paris against the United States – and especially against Europe. The Saudi air force is equipped with Boeing F-15s, European Eurofighter Typhoons and British Tornadoes. It will probably fall back on the Rafale because it cannot acquire 48 Typhoons due to the German veto. Under pressure from the Greens, who accuse Riyadh of war crimes in Yemen, Chancellor Olaf Scholz had to oppose this sale. A success by default for the tricolor plane in the ruthless competition from arms dealers.