Dassault in active talks for fighter jet sales

PARIS - Dassault Aviation is talking to Malaysia, Qatar and Canada about possible sales of its Rafale fighter as the company works to close a contract with India for 126 of the delta-wing combat jets.

Discussions with Qatar are “active” without any formal request for proposals, and Canada is evaluating the Rafale, Dassault Chief Executive Officer Eric Trappier said in an interview. The French company has “constant exchanges” with Malaysia, though there’s no official calendar for a decision, the executive said.

Dassault’s most important prospect is the expected order for Rafales from the Indian government after the manufacturer was named the exclusive bidder last year. Those talks haven’t prevented Paris-based Dassault from pursuing other possibilities.

“We have sufficient staffing to be involved in five or six competitions at once,” Trappier said Thursday, after a news briefing on firsthalf results. None of the other discussions underway are as “weighty” as those with India, he said.

Dassault is also continuing talks with the United Arab Emirates, which had short-listed the twin-engine Rafale for a 60-plane deal earlier. Trappier said the company is “hopeful” about a positive outcome. Trappier also wants to sell jets to Brazil, though he said the government there is busy on other issues and he doesn’texpect answers soon.

Trappier said he had no specific number on Qatar’s needs, though when asked whether speculation about 24 to 36 planes seemed reasonable, he said he’d heard similar numbers.

Dassault is hoping to wrap up negotiations with India before year-end. Even if the contract is pushed back until after elections, which must take place by May, Trappier said he wasn’t concerned the contract would unravel.

“India has a real need for those aircraft, and elections won’t change anything,” he said. “They’re not buying the planes to please Dassault or the French government.”

Trappier said Dassault has a team of about 50 people working full time to close the contract dealing with committees “step by step” to get a deal. Deliveries would begin three years after a final contract is agreed, he said.

Dassault Thursday said first-half profit fell 26 percent as it delivered fewer Falcon corporate jets, the other planes it makes besides Rafales. Revenue from Falcons fell as the company delivered 29 of the model compared with 34 jets in the same period a year earlier.

Business, Pages 74 on 07/28/2013

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