Last March, in the columns of Sunday newspaperÉric Trappier had warned: “ We actually want to offer ” Our plane in Portugal. “It is a country of the European Union and NATO. It would have the same interoperability capacities as we are in the context of the alliance, so it seems logical He had developed.
A few weeks later, on June 25, the CEO of Dassault Aviation took the plunge. During a hearing in the Senate, he announced that his group worked ” a lot with Portugal to try To convince him to choose the Rafale. And that ” because (the country) has not yet signed an F-35 order, even if it was about to do so “He said.
Portugal is looking for a successor to its F-16 AM/BM, at the end of his operational life. Long considered to be acquired, the F-35 option of Lockheed Martin is now questioned. In March, the Portuguese Defense Minister Nuno Melo publicly expressed his reservations about this choice. He spoke of the lack of ” predictability »From the United States in the current geopolitical context. For him, options ” Europeans Deserve to be envisaged, especially if they are of economic interest in the country.
A gap between political speeches and acts?
In this diplomatic breach, European manufacturers reacted quickly. The Swedish Saab confirmed the existence of talks around its JAS-39 Gripen E/F and, today, the French group Dassault has positioned itself with its Rafale. However, the leader was cautious about the chances of winning this new market.
According to him, ” When we offer burst, we are often told that a purchase of F-35 has just been concluded and that we have to take our turn for the moment when this plane is obsolete … which still postpones the maturity of 40 years ». He concludes: ” The problem is the gap between speeches and acts: there is certainly an awareness, but not enough acts. In total, in Europe, only two countries have chosen the tricolor plane: Greece and Croatia.
