Okay with you,it often happens like that...
But in this particular case,I don't think it will be.
Relations between the govt and Dassault are very special in France.Most of
the time (everytime),
the initial number of fighters ordered have been purchased to the last
one;Mirage 2000,F.1,III,and even more in some cases.
It is not rare that the budget changes everything as years go by,in France
like anywhere else.But very rare for Dassault.
The reduction from +/-320 to +/-285 has already been made.Dassault refused
to reduce it more because of the unit cost,
threatning to abandon the program...What I think S.Dassault could have
done.He has received all the guarantees that the number
won't be lowered.And it won't be unless a very strong economic crisis.
Still,the Armée de l'Air needs them,and the Marine seems to need even more
of them if its new carrier is larger than the CDG,and it
could be.

(Thank you for the precisions about "France bashing",it is useful here...
and sorry for my english...!)



"Thomas Schoene" a écrit dans le message de
news: et...
Mike wrote:
Those aditionnal 100 are not so speculative.

Until they're included in a current budget cycle, I'm inclined to call
them
speculative. Plenty of planned systems have not been bought under similar
situations.

Please note that my skepticism has nothing to do with France or Rafale in
particular.* It's just the nature of defense procurement worldwide that
anything in the outyears, especially past five years, is always subject to
change. To assume anything past the current five-year budget cycle for
any
military is a certainty is unwarranted optimism, IMO. And even the
five-year plans are never cast in stone.

* Indeed, I'm disgusted by the anti-French bigotry (verging on racism)
displayed by some posters here.

--
Tom Schoene Replace "invalid" with "net" to e-mail
"If brave men and women never died, there would be nothing
special about bravery." -- Andy Rooney (attributed)