Rafale fighter chosen by India - 126 aircraft.
 

For all those in Middle-East trying to get a big picture of the environment...

And as with latest models of BMW or Ferrari here in the Gulf, neighbours might feel the need quite soon...

Big party tonight on all the Dassault outfits of the region (including those dealing with Falcon 7X and 2000-EASY...)

http://s2.lemde.fr/image/2012/01/31/...6126220717.jpg

Yeap... agree some oil-rich Gulf countries are going to follow

Might be needed quite soon in the area, anyway - you already have a squadron of Rafale from the French Armée de l'air permanently based in Abu Dhabi - I saw two of them over Motor City last week :ok:

To all of us still dreaming :

Given all this, (Indian) MoD has ruled out the possibility of "any comeback" by Typhoon despite carping by the four nations (UK, Germany, Spain and Italy) backing it

That's from "The Times of India" of today.

IAF fighter deal: Rafale much cheaper than Typhoon; govt rules out review - The Times of India

Yes , why buy a VW Golf when you can but a 2CV ? Or 2 x2 CVs ?
No shaking of heads please ....... unless you mean yes ?

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...

Allez la France.

Hey , Reinhardt , take a chill pill man , is it really necessary to resort to PMs to vent your spleen ?
All your points are debatable , and as the Yanks are unlikely to supply the Pakistanis with their latest kit anymore , the Indians have some leeway in what they need .
Whatever , it was meant to be light-hearted , but somebody always rises to the bait , this time it was a real fighter ace .....