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France, Kuwait Close To Rafale Deal

* Middle East Newsline
* January 25, 2010

LONDON [MENL] -- France and Kuwait have moved closer toward a multi-billion-dollar fighter-jet deal.
Officials said Kuwait has agreed in principle to purchase more than a dozen Rafale multi-role fighter-jets from France's Dassault Aviation.
They said the two countries have reached agreement on most of the details of a proposed contract.
"The agreements are nearly complete," an official said. "The question now is one of timing and political coordination."
On Jan 23, France and Kuwait concluded its annual defense cooperation session in Paris.
The five-day meeting was headed by Kuwait Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Abdul Rahman Al Othman and French Chief of Staff Jean-Louis
Georgelin and included a strategic review and proposed military projects. France has intensified negotiations for the sale of between 14 and 28
Rafales to Kuwait. Over the past year, the French Air Force has conducted demonstrations of Rafale both in France and the Gulf Cooperation Council sheikdom.
Al Othman was said to have discussed the proposed Rafale deal with France's Defense Ministry. No details were reported by either country.
"Maj. Gen. Al Othman held separate meetings with assistant director of exports of the directorate general of armaments at Defense Ministry and
assistant of the joint chief of staff on international relations," the official Kuwait News Agency said.
In October 2009, France and Kuwait signed a defense agreement meant to expand current relations. Officials said the new pact was designed to
accelerate weapons deals, training, intelligence exchange and exercises.
Officials said Kuwait has also been briefed on the option to purchase U.S. fighter-jets, including the F-16 multi-role aircraft. On Jan. 25, Al
Othman was scheduled to participate in defense cooperation talks with the United States. Kuwait, a major non-NATO ally, hosts more than 15,000 U.S.troops.

Kuwait Defence Ministry, Rafale and the UAE experience – Update 1 (40$)
Posted on: Thu, Jan 14, 2010
The Kuwaiti Defence Ministry is said to have failed to benefit too much from the Emirati experience in negotiations underway with France on the Rafale aircraft. The following 435-word report sheds light on the subject and tells why the Emiratis did not cooperate. It also tells how Kuwaiti Deputy PM and Defence Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak is now approaching the Rafale deal.

In January, Dassault Chief Executive Officer Charles Edelstenne conceded that he'd given up hope of landing contracts for Rafale in Kuwait and Greece.

Even though the company's chairman and chief executive, Charles Edelstenne, isn’t very optimistic about Rafale’s chances, (IOL609), according to our information Dassault last week submitted a tender to supply 28 armed aircraft to Kuwait. The total price, undermined by problems with arabic translation, is € 3.9 billion, plus € 800 million for weapons. Boeing, meanwhile, offers its F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and even offered to buy the old Kuwaiti F/A-18C and F/A-18D

Kuwaiti DM: Our Military To Be Substantially Beefed Up

Kuwaiti Defense Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak said yesterday that Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad had asked French President Nicolas Sarkozy to sell the country Rafale fighter jets.

The minister added that the Kuwaiti military was being equipped with new sophisticated weapons, and was training with skilled forces from other countries, with the aim of becoming one of the strongest militaries.

Source: Al-Siyasa, Kuwait, March 18, 2010

Rafale Deal Garners Kuwaiti Opposition

Middle East Newsline March 23, 2010
ABU DHABI [MENL] -- Kuwaiti plans to procure France's Rafale fighter-jet has encountered opposition from parliament.

The Islamist bloc in parliament has warned the Gulf Cooperation Council sheikdom from signing a multi-billion-dollar deal to purchase up to 28 Rafale warplanes from France's Dassault Aviation. The Reform and Development
Bloc said the Rafale was overpriced and fails to meet the requirements of the Kuwait Air Force. "The bloc reiterates its firm rejection of this suspicious deal, especially following information that the latest technical reports have recommended the rejection of the deal," the Reform and Development Bloc said.

The March 21 statement came amid intensified efforts by France and Kuwait to conclude the Rafale deal. Kuwait has agreed in principle to purchase Rafale, and the two sides were said to be focusing on unit price and offsets.

Parliamentary opposition to Rafale was first expressed in November 2009. At the time, opposition parliamentarians asserted that Kuwait had agreed to an inflated price for Rafale.Since then, the Defense Ministry has been examining the proposed Rafale project.

The ministry, which deemed Rafale a priority, has not released the findings of a recent examination. But opposition parliamentarians asserted that the ministry's technical panel recommended the rejection of Rafale, which has failed to win export orders.
"We warn the government against squandering public funds on suspicious deals," Walid Al Tabtabai, spokesman for the Islamist bloc, said.

The Reform and Development Bloc contains four parliamentarians. Over the last two years, opposition members were said to have blocked major Kuwait deals, including the construction of a $14 billion refinery.
The 50-member parliament has demanded greater oversight over major defense and energy deals. In November 2009, parliament voted unanimously to direct the independent Audit Bureau to examine the Rafale deal as well as two other defense procurement projects.

[...]On other issues, AlـDuwaisan denied that there was a prior situation within Parliament where they stood against the Defense Ministry''s deal to purchase the Frenchـmade Rafale jets.[...]