Airbus is all about securing Jobs… A national fighter aircraft manufacturer is all about technologies and deterrence. There are way more profitable markets. You don’t sell abroad Peugeot to keep Dassault afloat in order to maintain jobs… This is the wrong strategy.
But even this logic is full of flaws. If I sell 450 fuselage sections, I maintain more jobs than 120 complete airframe with a lower technological edge.
The US have large subcontractors in every domain of the field working globally and most importantly here, locally on several different projects. France has not. That’s why you’ve got this drama with small contractor having way too much weight on the output (prod rate).
Dassault is not liable for the network of subcontractors in France. This is the role of the DGA. Taking this by the extreme (there are always some middle grounds), it was not in the interest of MD to build an ITAR free (which is not) aircraft. They should have paid way more attention to source their components abroad as an option. GE414, F16 adapted electronics (see the farce in it?), less restricted munitions etc… A delta fighter with a classic structure build by the producer of the CATIA software like the Raf had all that was required to offer that much flexibility.
Now, it’s too late. There is nothing in the airframe that can’t be replicate by Saab, the Turkish, Korean or Indian industry (at best for MD) in the next decade.
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