Since this is a cost-only thread, I will refrain from discussing operational aspects.

If this was the very reason, the French would shoot themselves in the foot since this would prevent potential (resp. current) customers from buying French fighters (resp. again).

This is the very reason, and the French have actually shot themselves in the foot. Numbers talk for themselves all these years and not just because of MICA, the M2K has not sold as good as MIII, while Rafale has sold nothing yet. Greece for one thing has only upgraded half of its M2Ks and is no longer considering Rafale. The same with other ex Mirage customers.

The MICA is very expensive and this is only partially justified by its capabilities. The French are not the best salesmen around, they have good products, but they are pure rip-offs and thus systematically fail to keep their customers. They make it up just because there are still people who need something non-american.

That would explain why Morocco invested in MICAs for its ageing Mirage F1 fleet.

Hardly. Morocco could either buy MICAs, or leave its MF2000s with the two DEFAs only. Other than that, it’s their money of course, but I think it that upgrade was not the most wise thing to do…

Added to that, notice how the UAE asks for SLAM-ER integration under the Rafale, but nothing when it comes to AAMs.

I don’t think the UAE and other gulf states are a very succesful example on anything moneywise. They already have in service excellent cruise missiles in the form of Black Shaheens. It’s not that they have any desperate need for SLAM-ERs, they just want new toys. Their petrodollars make void any -otherwise perfectly sensible- argument…

also seems like IRIS-T is twice as much as ASRAAM. Why did the Greeks chose IRIS T over ASRAAM?

How about the obvious? Because they are part of its development consortsium.

I don’t know why the MICA is that expensive.

Because it’s a monopoly in its field (french fighters), that’s why.

Taking HAF’s contract for MICA procurement as reference, eace MICA EM costes 1.1 million euros in 2000 prices and each MICA IR 1.7 million euros. The equivalent cost for AIM-120C-5s, also in 2000 money, was 416,000 US$.

Yet the MICA has been bought by Greece, the UAE, Taiwan ROC and Qatar air forces. Either the MICA really is a good missile, or the price has been watered down for export versions… maybe a bit of the two. 😉

..or these countries had no other option to arm their fighters, so they would be forced to agree to any price.

BTW, only Greece, UAE and France for its Rafales only, have bought the IR version of MICA afaik.

Plenty of photos of operational German Eurofighters with IRIS-T missiles.

Has anyone seen photos of these carrying AMRAAM?

Which version does the Luftwaffe use on the Eurofighter (F-4F ICE uses AIM-120B)?

They are not planned to fitted with rear facing MAWS and are not fitted with a towed decoy?

There are of course the famous pics with the black and yellow paveways:

hires

Don’t know exactly, but it should be at least 3 years old, I have a 2007 magazine with that pic in front.

According to this article in defencenet posted yesterday, the first Papanikolis class (type 214) submarine, Papanikolis itself that is, will never be accepted by HN and that’s final. Instead a new one will be ordered to make up for the initial number of four, and two more will also be ordered to make up for two Type 209 subs whose modernization program was scrapped.

The catch is that Abu Mare must buy ENAE shipyards where the subs are to be built. I doubt the article though, it seems there is too much journalistic speculation, only defencenet sources, nothing official.

As for the FREMMs, I’m not particularly worried as two things are certain: The maximum number of all frigates will drop (so a drastic drop in expenses), despite HN’s wishes, and the first FREMM would be inducted in service no sooner than 2017 anyway. The worst case scenario is that corvete-size ships is bought instead, as it has been proposed.