Will Dassault Aviation have to deliver its Rafale aircraft to the French armies more quickly because of the war in Ukraine? Certainly. In any case, this is what the Air and Space Force wants. The reason is simple: it wants to compensate with Rafales for the Mirage 2000-5 planes in its fleet that the French government has promised to deliver to kyiv from the first half of 2025. “Obviously, this impacts the format of fighter aviation a little. The ministry understood this very well and we looked at how we could compensate for this transfer. indicated Jérôme Bellanger, Chief of Staff of the Air Force (CEMAAE). The Air Force general spoke during a meeting with journalists from the AJD (association of defense journalists) on November 20 in Paris.
Last June, Emmanuel Macron announced the delivery of Mirage 2000-5 fighter planes, with Ukrainian pilots and mechanics already in training. The Minister of the Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs had specified that these aircraft would be suitable for air-to-air and air-to-ground missions. However, the Air Force still relied on these devices, “less than twenty”which must reach the end of their life only in the 2030s. This is reminiscent of what happened in 2021 when France confirmed the purchase of 12 Rafales from Dassault Aviation. This order then compensated for the 12 aircraft which would be taken from the French Air Force as part of the contract signed with Greece.
Collect aircraft intended for export
To continue to fulfill all of its missions, the Air Force intends to combine several devices based on the Rafale. In the immediate future, it will shift the load of missions which was carried out on the Mirage 2000-5 to the Dassault Aviation aircraft already available. “The Rafales will fly more hours per year than initially planned” explains the air force general. Due to accelerated wear, this will be accompanied by the purchase of additional parts and capacities.
In the medium term, the Air Force mainly intends to accelerate the delivery schedule for Rafales already ordered from Dassault Aviation. Instead of having planes delivered in 2027, it hopes to be able to take planes from the aircraft manufacturer’s chain planned for export, but for which the contract has not yet been signed with the end customer. As for India. “It depends on the Dassault factories”recognizes the officer.
A rate difficult to increase
Indeed, the manufacturer is struggling to increase its production rates and is aiming for the objective of assembling three devices per month. Last year, Dassault Aviation delivered only 13 Rafales, including two for export, against a target of 15 aircraft. There is an additional difficulty. By multiplying its successes abroad, Dassault Aviation is now overwhelmed with orders. In total, more than 500 aircraft were ordered, including 261 for export. If he wants or must favor French forces, will he have to keep his foreign clients waiting? Or even increase your rates to four devices per month?
At the start of the year, the Directorate General of Armaments (DGA) notified Dassault Aviation and its industrial partners (Thales, Safran and MBDA) of the contract for the 5th production tranche of the Rafale program. This contract, corresponding to an investment of more than 5 billion euros provided for by the 2024-2030 Military Programming Law, includes the production of 42 devices intended for the Air and Space Force. The first aircraft of the 5th tranche should then be delivered in 2027.
Source: www.usinenouvelle.com
