Morocco to buy Rafales

[Family Guy]

Here is a article about a possible sale of 12-18 Rafales to Morocoo

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PARIS (Reuters) - Le Maroc pourrait être le premier pays étranger client du Rafale avec l'acquisition de 12 à 18 appareils construits par Dassault Aviation, écrit La Tribune dans son édition de mercredi, citant des "sources industrielles concordantes".

Selon le quotidien économique, l'opération serait financée par l'Arabie saoudite qui a récemment préféré au Rafale l'Eurofighter, construits par EADS, BAE Systems et Finmeccanica.

"Les Saoudiens ont visiblement sous-évalué l'énorme déception des Français à la suite de leur décision d'opter pour l'Eurofighter", écrit La Tribune.

"L'échec du Rafale a en effet été très durement ressenti à Paris. Du coup, les missions diplomatiques françaises au palais du roi Abdallah ont fini par ébranler les esprits saoudiens qui n'avaient pas pris la mesure des enjeux du Rafale pour la France, estime-t-on au sein des industriels", poursuit le quotidien.

L'acquisition d'appareils par le Maroc ferait suite à l'achat par son voisin algérien de plus de 60 avions de combat russes

[Archibald]

Well this could be great at least one foreign customer for the Rafale...  

[Radish]

Goodness  

[B777LR]

After all those years of france trying to sell Rafales, they finally sell a few, to a country as marocco!    

[Spey_Phantom]

i would expected maybe Saudi arabian India or even Algeria as a launch customer.
but Morroco comes as a surprise to me    

[Archibald]

eeeeeerh B777LR sometimes I feel you don't like very much French peoples
Selling 20 planes to Marocco is better than selling nothing to noone (Well, the Korean were stupid enough to buy a 30 yaers old fighter whithout FBW )
Why scorning this nice country? the only democratic muslim country...
Don( forget they already have the best Mirage F-1 in the world, with upgraded radar and MICA (quite similar to Rafale)  

[PolluxDeltaSeven]

A little translation in English (quite the same article):

Morocco is negotiating with Dassault Aviation of France for the purchase of 12 to 18 Rafale combat planes that would be financed by Saudi Arabia, the newspaper Le Tribune reported Wednesday.

But a Dassault official, contacted by AFP, said "these reports are without foundation".

Citing industry sources Le Tribune said that Morocco, anxious to boost its air arm after the purchase by its neighbor Algeria of 60 Russian combat planes, was negotiating directly with Dassault.

But it added that the deal would be financed by Saudi Arabia.

While the reported Moroccan order would be modest, it would nonetheless serve to launch Rafale's export activities following the failure of initiatives in the Netherlands, South Korea and Singapore.




But sadly, the deal is not yet achieved!! Indeed, after this news paper's indiscreet words, the major Morrocan allie, i.e. the USA, did some pressures in order to cancel the negociations (well, a non-american fighter paid by an American allie (Saudi) for another american allie... it sounds quite strange )...

But the deal is not achieved... And don't forget that if we believe everything the Tribune wrote, Dassault already sold Rafale to Singapor, Korea, Brazil, Swiss, Netherland etc etc...


For the moment, that's only rumors... But founded one! After all, Morocco just bought MICA and ASSM missiles (standard missiles for the Rafale) and we know that the Saudis don't like the pressures and don't listen to them, even when it's american pressures. So, even if the deal is not signed yet, it could be a good oportunity

[Son of Damian]

Why is that Saudi Arabia financecs arms deals for other Muslim countires???

They bought Mirages Egypt and they gave financial support to Idi Amin of Uganda and even harbored him after the genocidal SOB was taken out of power.

[Iranian F-14A]

Muslim countries seem to like to help their "brothers". Pakistan sent pilots to fly with the Jordanian AF fighting Israel,and I believe thats where Jordan got a few of their Starfighters from,if not all of them.Many muslim countries have treaties with each other that say "If you are attacked,its the same as me being attacked and I will send my forces to help you out",much like the NATO treaty.I believe(and I could be wrong here) Saudi Arabia also helped finance the Gazelles for Syria too.

[PolluxDeltaSeven]

Yes, that's a kind of Middle-East NATO It sounds logical to me...

Every major counrty want to increase its influence and dominion in its area... USA do that with FMS contracts, France sometimes sell its own material (like the second hand Mirage 2000 to Brazil) or even pay for MBT (in UAE), UK's industrials send their own ground crew etc etc...

For Saudi, they sometimes pay for soe military stuff and hope in return commmercial or political supports...
The same thing happen in Latin America with helicopters, trainer and sometimes combat planes offers...

[seavixen]

I'm not sure that it's too unlikely a deal.

Morocco was was a French colony wasn't it?

[Archibald]

Yep! Independant in 1955 quite easily. But to my mind, this not help!! Anyone ready to make a Rafale in Marocco camo?  

[Gary]

Hey, like PD7 says, Middle eastern NATO. And why not, really.
If not for the support from the US a lot of her allies would not be as stable as they are. The US encouraged countries like Canada in their development of aircraft, building their defense forces and ultimately with trade.
The Arrow got massive financial and scientific support from the US. As did the Buccaneer program, the TSR2 received funding, Germany in her rebuilding. The list of support is huge and that certainly doesn't make the US bad or sinister.
It make them sensible and logical.
You support your friends, and why? So that when the time comes for support either in the UN or on the world political stage, that friend might support you. NATO is the classic case. NORAD, Warsaw Pact, and so on.
I have to say, that any sort of spin that this is somehow tainted makes no sence. If Saudi is in the position to help out her Arab brothers, then she should. It's what famlies do.

But back on the subject, I love the Rafale. She is without equal in asthetics, pure sex in the sky. I don't know squat about performance and such, but I can't wait to see her in a new dress.

About time someone else took her to the dance.

Just a thought, what do Morooco's roundels look like?

[Archibald]

Something like that! (thanks to ACIG.org )



Just imagine a Rafale in this lovely camo...

You can see better here (wreckage of a F-1CH shot down by the POLISARIO)

[B777LR]

eeeeeerh B777LR sometimes I feel you don't like very much French peoples

Errhmm, i havent got anything against the french. B) Just thought it was a bit strange that they can get customers that probably cant afford it as well as others.

What is the Polisario?