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Nations have always wanted 'proper' fighters if they can get their hands on them. That's why so many smaller air forces have clung onto F-86s, MiGs and F-5s in the past until they were practically flying museum pieces.
Smaller subsonic fighters like the Hawk 200, AMX or FA-50 have never sold well when the Air Marshals want afterburning thunderous displays on national days and makes their air force look potent against the neighbours.
Saying that, I must admit this Rafale revival has taken me by surprise. Ignoring any political shenanigans and AdA attempts to make the fleet look younger, it has certainly stolen a march on the Typhoon which for its last sales relied on the Middle Eastern pro-buying British market and heavy export credits too.
to clarifyThat is something that always got me questioning the Rafale purchase by the Croatians, it is a bit of a leap to go from a MiG-21 to a Rafale. Something like a Gripen would be more suited to their requirements.Interesting quote from that article.More of the same:
Croatia Is Getting French Rafale Multirole Fighters To Replace Its Veteran MiG-21s
Although second-hand, the French-made fighters will provide a huge leap in capability for the Balkan nation.www.thedrive.com
Speaking to The War Zone on condition of anonymity, a former Croatian Air Force MiG-21 pilot explained that he saw the Rafale as “absolute unnecessary overkill” for the country, adding that, even today, only around 30 percent of the MiG’s capabilities are actually being utilized — primarily, QRA scrambles and training for these same missions.
Describing the Rafale decision as politically motivated, he said he was concerned that no serious cost/benefit calculation had been provided for the full planned service life of the new jets and he also pointed out that the existing infrastructure at Zagreb-Pleso Air Base will require significant renovation, including modern hangars.
I'm not saying that they made the wrong decision, I just found it a bit....odd.
There are 2 elements to this.
ANY fighter aircraft the Croatians bought will need their associated infrastructure totally revamped so that’s an inevitability, and it would likely to be a long-term false economy to try to “get-away” with carrying over any miss-matched existing infrastructure from the MIG-21 era.
My first impression would also be that a Rafale may well be over kill for a dedicated QRA-type role and that a cheaper option may be available to do that. However it is worth querying if in this specific case some of these “cheaper” options actually are cheaper (the Gripen, for example). And given the lack of sales for the likes of the FA-50 it is notable that a lot of airforces (and their governments) don’t appear to want this class of fighter and are opting for something a bit heavier and more capable (like the Rafale in this case).
1. the KAI Golden Eagle does not lack exports. It's already been exported to 4 countries and in comparable numbers to the Gripen A-D. It would have been 5 countries had the UK not blocked the Argentine sales
2. the Golden Eagle is supersonic, not sub-sonic. It has an F404 engine (same as Gripen, Hornet, Tejas) with a proper afterburner.
3. Even the Gripen was picked up by many small European countries that are in NATO, similar to the situation Croatia is in. such as Czech and Hungary.
but I agree on the last point about the Rafale revival. I remember in the 2000s and early 2010s, people were always harping about how successful the Typhoon was and all these articles about..Will the Rafale ever gain one export? Why is the Rafale unpopular? Is the Rafale a failure?
it seems the Rafale is on track to maybe surpass the Mirage 2000 in terms of exports.