France orders 12 Rafale from Dassault Aviation

France is ordering 12 Rafale fighter jets for its air force from Dassault Aviation to replace the 12 second-hand aircraft sold to Greece on Monday, Armed Minister Florence Parly announced on Friday. With the planes that the aircraft manufacturer must already deliver, “this order will ensure the sustainability of your load plan and that of your subcontractors until the end of 2025”, declared the Minister during a trip to the Dassault Aviation site in Argonay (Haute-Savoie).

The amount of the transaction was not disclosed. It will be financed in particular by the proceeds of the sale to Athens of the 12 planes taken from the inventory of the Air Force, which is “of the order of 400 million euros”, according to the minister’s office. . The price of a Rafale “fully equipped is around a hundred million euros”, according to Dassault Aviation CEO Eric Trappier.

“These devices will be delivered at the end of deliveries of the 28 already ordered from Dassault, namely in 2025”, told Agence France-Presse the Chief of Staff of the Air Force and space, General Philippe Lavigne. The air force will then number 129 Rafale, the navy 42.

7,000 jobs affected

Faced with tensions with neighboring Turkey, Greece on Monday ordered 18 Rafale planes – 12 used and 6 new – for nearly 2.5 billion euros. With deliveries underway for Qatar and India, Dassault Aviation will thus be able to maintain a production rate of around one Rafale per month.

“This represents 7,000 jobs, at Dassault, but also within nearly 500 SMEs that work with you,” insisted the Minister in her speech. This order therefore supports the activity of companies which, for the most part, also have an activity in civil aviation and are weakened by the crisis in the aeronautics sector.

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