Gilbert Sedbon/PARIS
SERGE DASSAULT HAS staked his company's claim for leadership of a next-generation European combat-aircraft programme, saying that Dassault would be willing to work with Germany on a programme beyond the Rafale multi-role fighter now in development.
"Present indications," says Dassault, "point rather towards Germany, even though it is not definitive."
Dassault's pro-German move may in part be sparked by concern that the UK is shifting its interest toward the USA and its Joint Advanced Strike Technology (JAST) programme potentially to meet many of its future military-aircraft requirements.
UK and French industries have been working jointly on engine and radar developments for a next-generation combat aircraft for several years. British Aerospace and Dassault have also explored possible airframe configurations.
Failure to agree who would be the prime contractor was partly responsible for BAe and Dassault going their own ways on development of the Eurofighter and Rafale.
BAe is teamed with McDonnell Douglas in bidding for JAST work and Rolls-Royce is a consortium member in several JAST engine bids .
BAe says that it is interested mainly in the advanced short take-off and vertical-landing variant of the JAST project, to replace the BAe Sea Harrier F/A.2 and Harrier GR.7. The UK Ministry of Defence, however, is also looking at a conventional variant of the JAST as a possible successor to the Panvia Tornado GR.4 strike aircraft - a move which could bring it into collision with French aspirations for a European programme to meet this need.
Dassault says: "France and its defence industries are determined to work with European aircraft manufacturers. Let the best-qualified and best-suited among our European industrialists do the job on any future programme, whether in Germany, France, or elsewhere in Europe. There must be one boss."
While Daimler-Benz Aerospace (DASA) confirms that it is talking to Dassault about possible future combat-aircraft technologies, it has re-iterated its commitment to the four-nation Eurofighter programme, despite Dassault's claim that he has offered Germany a production line to build Dassault-developed Rafale fighters.
Dassault has also attacked the UK and the Netherlands over what he describes as both countries' lack of solidarity when it comes to procuring European, rather than US, military aircraft.
Source: Flight International
