June 2009
Rumors surface that the UAE, who chose to develop the
F-16E/F Block 60 Desert Falcon instead of buying the Rafale, may be willing to replace its Mirage 2000v9 fleet with Rafale aircraft in a $10 billion deal.
If they do, however, they reportedly want some changes to the platform, including engine thrust growth from 16,500 pounds each to 20,000 pounds, an AESA radar, and integration with MBDA’s Meteor long-range missile. Funding from the UAE could help France finance Rafale upgrades, as their key requests are all already planned or in development. where negotiations become interesting is the quid pro quo. A follow-on article in UAE’s The National discusses past licensing-for-exports deals associated with funded modifications to their Mirage 2000 and F-16 platforms. Those deals made the UAE several hundred million dollars when the Mirage 2000v5 modification it helped finance were sold to other countries.
http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090929/BUSINESS/709299930/1005
So UAE first tryst with Rafale is 2009 so roughly even UAE talks are more than 6 years plus
A gist from wiki (just for gist)
In 2009, the
United Arab Emirates Air Force was interested in an upgraded version of the Rafale with more powerful engines and radar, and advanced air-to-air missiles. In October 2011, Dassault was confident that a US$10-billion deal for up to 60 Rafale aircraft would be signed. However, Deputy Supreme Commander of the
Union Defence Force,
Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in November 2011 called the French offer "uncompetitive and unworkable"; France had in 2010 asked the UAE to pay US$2.6 billion of the total cost to upgrade the Rafale. Consequently, the UAE started to explore a purchase of the Eurofighter Typhoon or the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.
The newspaper
La Tribune reported in February 2012, that the UAE was still considering the US$10-billion deal for 60 Rafales. Interoperatibility among the Gulf air forces has led to renewed interest in the Rafale from Qatar and Kuwait. In January 2013, President Hollande stated that he would be discussing the potential sale of Rafale to the UAE during an official visit. In December 2013, it was announced that UAE had decided not to proceed with a deal for the supply of defence and security services, including the supply of Typhoon aircraft. In September 2014 it was announced that the UAE could acquire 40 Rafales in addition to upgrades to its existing Mirage 2000s
I dont see it any better than MMRCA. Especially bcz their confusion over rafale vs EF vs F18 ASH or F16s newer blocks seems more imminent rather than clear L1 status to Dassault with whom we entered into negotiations on 2012 and finally ended MMRCA in 2015 due to multiple issues. Yet 36 off the shelf seems to be progressing quite well and if i count from april 2015 onwards then within max 1 year the deal (contract) may be signed
Again i don know why people compare but then UAE requirements and Indian requirements are quite different.
