Rafale wins Indian order

[Reinhardt]

The more time does elapse, the more it becomes difficult for the anglo-saxon world to swallow it.
One of the most common ideas of them, written widespread over the media and the net, is that "so far Rafale has been unable to attract a single export order" So what ?
Now they say "Typhoon has biggest margin for improvement" - in other words, it's not finished, a lot of key capabilities are missing, so yes all that could be done one day... at a significant cost, with no guarantee that it could ever work or be finished (look at Nimrod Mk2 or Nimrod "AWACS") and for that development to take place, agreements would have to be found with the other consortium nations... and those countries are just so lagging behind, no longer wanting to commit a single penny or even to finish their current orders...
And now the British PM says "we will make the Typhoon less expensive" ... which is in total contradiction with the above story about future required development, isn't it ?
Stop saying Typhoon can drop a laser-guided bomb : it can... like any fighter, even a Hunter could do that, with a smarter aircraft illuminating the target (remember Buccaneers and Tornadoes in the first Gulf War)
And what about recce pods, cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles, carrier landing capability for the dedicated version ??? and for this last point, don't say the future Indian carrier will not need it : that ship is far from being finished, and design is not frozen...
Answering all those questions does give you the keys of the deal. Yes, it was a very important deal for both aircraft, a question of survival, and one had to lose...

All that is a little bit reminiscent of the last Rugby Cup : how could it be, really, that France did beat Wales, England, and finished close to beating NZ ? yes, how could it be ?

Allez la France.