Saudi Arabia Wants to Buy 72 Rafale Multirole Fighter | World Defense

Saudi Arabia Wants to Buy 72 Rafale Multirole Fighter

Gabriel92

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French «Intelligence online» in the article «Riyad veut appater Paris avec un contrat Rafale», with reference to its sources reported that Defense Minister of Saudi Arabia and the Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman appealed to Paris with the request in the coming weeks to submit a proposal for the supply of fighter aircraft Dassault Rafale.

Saudi Arabia wants to buy 72 Rafale Multirole Fighter. The Dassault Rafale is French twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation.

France is anticipating an additional pair of export orders for its Rafale fighter, with Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates reportedly the most likely candidates. Reuters also reported Thursday that negotiations between India and France are now also discussing the possible supply of additional Rafales on top of the 36 ordered in April. Malaysia is looking to replace its MiG-29 Fulcrums, with the UAE recently restarting negotiations for the Rafale as it looks to swap out its fleet of Mirage 2000-9 fighters. The Gulf state has previously articulated a potential buy of sixty Rafales.

Saudi Arabia Wants to Buy 72 Rafale Multirole Fighter | Defence blog
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Gasoline

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And from where the money ? 72 Rafales requires not less than 20 bn ! ~^~

Rafale is a worthwhile jet and we would be so happy to see it working in RSAF, but I doubt this news is true. Even the number is very big !

We have not finished receiving the orders of EFs and F-15SAs, so we can't jump to the Rafale at this rate.

The Air force is fine. What we need currently is to strengthen the land forces with some MBTs and some LAVs. There maybe a naval deal with France, but I'm not sure what's the MoD is up to. Coming days will reveal...
 

Gabriel92

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And from where the money ? 72 Rafales requires not less than 20 bn ! ~^~

Rafale is a worthwhile jet and we would be so happy to see it working in RSAF, but I doubt this news is true. Even the number is very big !

We have not finished receiving the orders of EFs and F-15SAs, so we can't jump to the Rafale at this rate.

The Air force is fine. What we need currently is to strengthen the land forces with some MBTs and some LAVs. There maybe a naval deal with France, but I'm not sure what's the MoD is up to. Coming days will reveal...

To replace the F-5s ? Or the Tornados in the future. (Even if they have been modernized).
Let's see in the coming weeks if it is true or not.
 

Jaeger

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it makes no sense for Saudi Arabia to procure the Rafale since they have Typhoons. but i think the Saudis are pushing more for modernization of it's armed forces because of some other purchases they made.
 

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it makes no sense for Saudi Arabia to procure the Rafale since they have Typhoons. but i think the Saudis are pushing more for modernization of it's armed forces because of some other purchases they made.

I agree that they already have a very potent and modern air force. (Typhoons,F15SA,F15s modernized to SA,recently modernized Tornados)
What they need is to modernize their ground force (New tanks,new infantry fighting vehicles,new APCs etc.) and also the navy. (New frigates,why not submarines....)
 

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I personally doubt it. Saudi Arabia may go for more F-15/EF. The tornado will be phased out by 2025. The Rafale is a great choice thou.
 

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Saudi Arabia is looking for a substitute to its Tornado fleet and that explains the emergence of such speculation. The Rafale is very powerful platform and France has been a trustworthy ally of Saudi. I won't be surprised if the RSAF went for it but it would be hard to manage in terms of logistics support and maintenance. It needs decades to master how to treat the bird.
 

vegito12

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I think that it is interesting when you see the country spending money on jet fighters and also I think that people will be surprised how the money is spent and also Saudia Arabia has modern technology and it can be nice to see them being modern, which will make the country feel more safe and I wonder how the aircraft will work in protection of the country and the cost can be high. It is going to be interesting to see how much Saudia Arabia spends and wonder if the country will get savings which will make the relations between France and Saudia Arabia better and that trade will get better and hope we see more good results from this friendship as they are allies. In the coming months, it will be shown how the two countries work and also the aircraft will be a good thing and more powerful as well which can show positive results later down the road and think that more can be done with the new technology.
 

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Like some of the other users have mentioned, I would interesting to see where this lands in the budget of Saudi Arabia. Surely they have some money, but this sounds like an expensive investment. It also makes me a little weary, but then again it is probably something that goes on everyday in some countries.
 
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