I presume, with admittedly little knowledge, that second hand French Rafales F3s (which will miss out on the F4 upgrades - France started flight trials last week) would be more affordable than the Block 70/72 Vipers they were reputedly considering, a combination of Trump and Congress having wrecked the potential second hand (earlier Block)Viper/Barak deals (though the block 30 Baraks were apparently back on the table). I also recently read, but can't currently find, a report that the twin engine configuraton may have been a factor.
Interesting that France is offloading some of its Rafale F3s to Greece and now (it is alledged) Croatia ahead of the F4.1 / F4.2 programme, does this signal a new build buy?
Anyway a belated joyeux vingtième anniversaire to the Rafale for the 18th.