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From Rafale to drones, Dassault is losing support...

(credit: French Ministry of Defence)

(BRUSSELS2) Unable to sell the marvelous plane for export while the Europeans manage to place the Eurofighter and the Swedes the Gripen (in Switzerland), Dassault can be a little worried. Because national support is starting to be less enthusiastic, whether for the manufacture of the Rafale or its option to import an Israeli drone.

The Rafale chain interrupted in 2018 if it does not find an export customer

This was sensitive during the last intervention of the Minister of Defense, Gérard Longuet, on LCP-FranceInfo-LeMonde, on December 7. The minister had this sentence which says a lot about a certain confusion. “Si Dassault does not sell its device abroad, the chain will be stopped "not in 2013 because there are still orders to be fulfilled for the French army but in "2018". All will not be lost for the industry however, the minister was keen to reassure. Because in the price of an aircraft " The purchase represents one third and the life two thirds. When you have a Rafale, over its lifetime, you will pay twice the normal price. So the industry will be served. “he explained before defending” The Rafale is a truly versatile aircraft that allows air combat, surveillance, ground strikes. » And if it doesn't sell it may simply be a matter of “knowing where you place your ambition” he added.

The Battle of the Drones

But the major attack came from the Senate which chose to strike... at the wallet. In its report on the 2012 budget, voted at the beginning of December, the Senate, in fact, reviewed the choice made by the Ministry of Defense. A revision carried out – it should be noted – in a non-partisan way since the amendment was proposed by PS (Daniel Reiner) deputies, like UMP (Xavier Pintat). He estimated that by comparing the Israeli Heron TP drone project manufactured by IAI and adapted by Dassault and that of the American Reaper drone, there was reason to opt for the second, both for economic and military reasons.

The Heron TP drone from IAI (promoted by Dassault) is a surveillance drone produced in 7 copies, which is not yet operational in the Israeli army. To make it combat-ready, it would also be necessary to modify the satellite link (satcom) that connects it to the ground segment. The francisation, carried out by Dassault, costs 370 million euros for seven aerial vehicles and two ground stations, maintenance in operational conditions included for ten years and francisation included. But this drone could not be available "in the best case scenario", not before 2015, or even later. It is " 30% more expensive, 20% less efficient” admitted Defense Minister Gérard Longuet himself during the hearings.

The Reaper drone from the American industrialist General Atomics, " produced in more than 150 copies, is a marauding and combat drone ". Its cost is 209 million euros. With the francization which can be carried out by EADS, we arrive at “ a total cost of 297 million euros for seven aerial vehicles and two ground stations, maintenance in operational conditions included for ten years. And its availability could be a little faster: between two or three years” depending on whether or not the device is “Frenchified”.

The Senate's Choice

Between the two programs, there is no comparison according to the Senate. The option of the Ministry of Defense to choose the Heron TP drone, without a call for tenders, is “ difficult to understand: it is financially disadvantageous, militarily questionable and industrially risky, since according to the offer of May 2011, Dassault would only be responsible for the integration of satcom and additional sensors, but also for the import, certification and flight tests. In addition, it would only allow the operational need to be met after the end of the contract for maintaining the Harfang drone in operational conditions, thereby creating a capacity gap. » As a result, the Senate voted by the majority of its members to cut 80 million euros, leaving 146 million euros on the program to buy the Reaper drone (289 million euros) and deal with obsolescence of the Harfang drone (209 million euros). The 29 million euros saved will not be lost for defense, they will be allocated to the drone program of the future.

The bad choice of the government

Not content with having carried out this recomposition, the main architects of this amendment, UMP as well as PS, co-sign an article published in Le Monde today, entitled "the government's bad choice", the senators slam the Heron drone. It is large, slow and vulnerable to poor weather conditions. It was designed to operate above Israel's reduced territory in order to listen and observe on its borders. It is not armed and will never be able to carry multi-purpose weapons due to its architecture. Finally, less than ten copies were produced and were technologically incomplete. »…

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Nicolas Gros Verheyde

Chief editor of the B2 site. Graduated in European law from the University of Paris I Pantheon Sorbonne and listener to the 65th session of the IHEDN (Institut des Hautes Etudes de la Défense Nationale. Journalist since 1989, founded B2 - Bruxelles2 in 2008. EU/NATO correspondent in Brussels for Sud-Ouest (previously West-France and France-Soir).

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