I’d love to hear which aircraft was the one that French have copied to get the Rafale, then.. I’m all ears…

IMHO some features of the Rafale were directly inspired by the F-16 and F/A-18 concepts to improve over the Mirage 2000C :

Side stick type cockpit with reclined seat and improved HOTAS. (F-16)
Low speed maneuvrability over max raw speed (F-18)
Very good balance beetween A2A and A2G capabilities (F-16/F-18)
small size but good external fuel load capacity that doesn’t impact weapon load much (F-16/F-18)
Integrated lader and catapult tow-bar on the front gear for the Rafale M (F-18)

But there is no need to spy for that, you just have to observe and figure out what is good on the US fighter jets that could be used to improve your own aircrafts 🙂

Please, not the generation talk again….its tedious. It diminishes the fighters true abilitys and makes the discussion stupid.

Also that article starts flamewars. Funny as it is =)

With this stupid generation logic I bet that generation 10 will be wood and fabric propeller biplanes with water guns. :very_drunk:

Also it has offboresight capability (about 90° IIRC)
Nic

AFAIK, it’s 180° (you can shoot at a target behind your aircraft)

An RFP isn’t a binding document. It’s a request for proposals. There have been cases where RFPs lay out desired terms, or performance, or cost, which are unacceptable to any supplier or unachievable, & offers have been received none of which meet in full the terms of the RFP – but someone’s got a contract, because a proposal has been accepted as good enough.

An RFP is a wish list, an initial negotiating position, not a contract. If there’s a condition which can only be achieved in certain circumstances, which do not currently exist, you specify in your proposal (i.e. what the RFP is a request for) what conditions are required for you to meet that condition.

In this case, it looks to me as if the disagreement has been on a point like that. Dassault (perfectly reasonably) laid out the reasons why it is unable to guarantee HAL’s work under existing conditions (such as being unable to check or control it), & after a lot of noise, the Indian side has accepted that, & agreed to impose conditions on HAL which will make it possible for Dassault to give such a guarantee. After that, it’s a question of details.

Very good explanion Swerve !

Excellent analysis Xman. 100% spot-on.

Congrats to Egypt and Dassault team ! :very_drunk:
Thumbs-up to the French Mod as weel. He did a great job on this deal.

Neither is the free giveaway quip btw… 😀

I simply highlighted that the generous financing conditions afforded to Egypt contrast with the price increase imposed on India, which might annoy them a tad.

Egypt, doesn’t buy 30 years of advanced technology R&D, nor does it buy the industrial tools to build their own jets.

I can’t remember where but I remember reading about the Egyptian “deal” basically coming out of a donkey’s backside with zero finance, playing on Paris fears to repeat the Moroccan debacle (ie financing not approved)

Apparently, Financing would have been approved in mid January.

http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/air-space/strike/2015/01/17/united-arab-emirates-france-mirage-fighters/21856393/

Thought this was interesting, UAE looking to give away the Mirages without a clear replacement yet (F-16 block 61 deal unsigned, no more discussions with Dassault, or Eurofighter, serious political headwind for any potential F-35 deal from Israel).

Any rumblings which way Qatar is leaning? There were talks with Dassault this Spring and Summer now all is quiet?

What make you think the UAE have stop talking to Dassault ?
I Mean, nothing indicates that in the article.