le RAFALE répond aux attentes du marché mondial

"le RAFALE répond aux attentes du marché mondial" (www.dassault-aviation.com)
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The Rafale has failed so far to find a foreign buyer for the Dassault-built Rafale after losing out to U.S. rivals in South Korea, Singapore and now Morocco.(By Emmanuel Jarry, reuters 24.10.07)
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Weaknesses of the Rafale (Dassault, France) include the fact that the Rafale has yet to win a single export competition worldwide; the need for additional funds and work to integrate many non-French weapons if one wishes to use them on the Rafale; and its lack of an AESA radar. The Rafale's failure to win export competitions means more than a perception of "also-ran" status – as DID noted in an update to our Singapore fighter coverage (the Rafale lost to the F-15SG Strike Eagle), it is already forcing cuts in future Rafale procurement to pay for modernization, a dynamic that could get worse over the next 30 years.
(www.defenseindustrydaily.com, India's MMRCA Fighter Competition 29.08.07 )
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The loss of the Rafale contract with Morocco in its own diplomatic backyard is seen as a major embarrassment for France. Sarkozy has decided that France's export system, especially for military hardware, is faulty and must be changed "from top to bottom and left to right,". (By Emmanuel Jarry, reuters 24.10.07)
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A Rafale fighter jet crashed on a classic night training flight 06.12.07, the first downing since the multirole aircraft went into service in June 2006, the French air force said. it was flying at a normal height of 4,000 meters. The downed pilot was highly trained and qualified as a patrol chief. The crash comes as Libyan head of state Col. Moammar Gadhafi is interested in buying 10 to 14 Rafales.(By PIERRE TRAN www.defensenews.com 12.07.07).
If confirmed, the deal would be the first foreign order for the 34 billion euro Rafale program, which has been shortlisted several times but which is yet to find a foreign buyer, prompting French officials to seek improvements to its radar system. (haaretz.com 14.01.2007)