LOL, i didnt know that, google books tells how sweetman loves it
http://books.google.com/books?id=6yqfKaLp4noC&dq=%22Ultimate+Fighter%22+Sweetman&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=xVYCS779JYSY6wPGy_SHAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CBQQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=&f=false

This might be caused by the immatury of the design at the time of the selection.

yes i agree and to reinforce this..from sp user french stratege

https://research.maxwell.af.mil/papers/ay2000/saas/molloy.pdf
Page 7 we read
The UAE sale also highlights some of the negative aspects of exporting air technology. In order to compete with countries such as Russia and France—who export their top-of-the-line fighters—the U.S. must offer something better. Had the U.S. not sold F-16s to the UAE they would have most certainly purchased the French Rafale. Therefore, there are advantages to high-tech sales that displace competition such as the Rafale—an aircraft whose capabilities are not fully known—and replace it with a system whose capabilities and limitations are known and quantifiable.

rafale systems are still a ‘ we’re gunna fix it soon ‘ but the buyback of the 2k might swing the deal
they need to replace their 2k’s now and if they want f-35’s it wont be available to them before 2020

Another one bites the dust
Another one bites the dust
And another one gone, and another one gone
Another one bites the dust

http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/the-dewline/2009/11/dxb09-f-35-steals-rafale-thund.html
Today’s lesson: Never count out the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

This was supposed to be a big show for the Dassault Rafale. But after the first day it’s already clear the United Arab Emirates isn’t any closer to signing a long-awaited contract.

Dubai 09: UAE reveals fifth-generation fighter ambitions

A top United Arab Emirates military leader aspires to obtain a fifth-generation fighter in the very near term, suggesting a potential new sales coup for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

“I hope that within a couple years the UAE, like many other countries, will have a fifth-generation fighter,” says Brig Gen Ibrahim Naser Alalawi, deputy commander of the UAE Air Force and Air Defence.

.9 is not half of 1.2.

i’ll type slowly for you
uber-pig is 1.2 low and 2.5+ high
is a loaded rafle .9 ….high, low or both ?

How do you calculate that 2.5 is more than twice as much as 1.8?

I’m assuming that you’re not making such a pointless comparison as F-111 high altitude maximum speed with Rafale maximum speed at sea level. It would be insulting to you to think you would do such a stupid thing.

you’re using fanboy maths, arent you
it has been stated that a loaded rafle is m .9.
i asked if that was high alt. if it is, a pig is 2.5 now, an uber-pig will probaly be m 3

huh?

Please make sense.

Are you either Mr Goon or Mr Kopp or not?

And if you are not, I suggest you look into your “Hero” a bit before idolising him so much.

just being silly fanboy, mate

M 0.82 cruise, Mach 0.90 maxi, 5.5 g; these are the loads of the weapons, a Rafale in A2A configuration is cleared to 750 kt (although perhaps without tanks and not all AAMs), the external tank limit is M 1.6, 9.0 g (empty for the 2.000 l).

well i was close to a f111 being nearly twice as fast 😎

1.500 kt at sea level is a great performance really! 😀
.

dont be silly, with internal bombs and internal long range juice @ m 1.2
whats rafale low altitude mission speed. with external bombs and juice ? .7 or .8