Dassault Aviation: record order intake and new programmes amid geopolitical and technology challenges 24/07/2024 | Marco Giulio Barone

On July 2023, Dassault Aviation held a press conference in Saint Cloud following the approval of the 2024 half year financial statement. Eric Trappier, Chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation, made the point on the different programmes and projects the company is involved in, and anticipated some future developments.

Thanks to a consolidated backlog of €41 billion (€36.4 of which from the defence sector), Dassault Aviation remains solid and can face the numerous present and future geopolitical, industrial, and technological challenges. As many as 306 aircraft were on order as of June 30, including 159 Rafale for export markets, 64 for the French Air Force, and 83 Falcon. To date, 495 Rafale have been ordered by 7 customers, and insights from the company confirm that new contracts may come in the following years.

Nonetheless, Dassault is still grappling with sector-wide difficulties with the supply chain, including shortages in production lines due to supplier inefficiencies in some cases, especially in the aerostructure sector. These difficulties have been affecting Falcon and Rafale deliveries as well as impacting customer support. To respond to the war in Ukraine and to global stability in general, the French president Emmanuel Macron has openly demanded to the national industry to give priority to defence programmes. Therefore, Dassault is giving priority to the production of Rafale over the Falcon lines. This notwithstanding, the capability to deliver 36 fighters per year will only be reached in 2025. Dassault is taking internal and external measures to mitigate the effects of the disruption in the supply chain, and to anticipate sub-contractor inefficiencies. For instance, Dassault's teams are often dispatched to subcontractors to help them finding solutions to their difficulties in getting raw materials, differentiating suppliers, and coping with technical challenges. Moreover, given the links forged with Indian companies as part of the “Make in India” initiative and the major business opportunities, India has emerged as an opportunity to expand the supply chain.

As far as future developments are concerned, the Rafale F4 standard is under development, and the F5 standard is currently at study. A few years ago, the F4 was seen as the last major overhaul of the aircraft, with F5 as mere update (non-regression programme) to keep the fighter relevant on the battlefield through 2040s. The approach has slightly changed in the last two years, as new contracts secured production for a longer period of time, thus justifying major upgrades and new capabilities. Hence, the F5 currently at study will push the boundaries of actual technologies, focusing on new sensors (e.g. conformal radar, new EW capabilities, EO sensors) and on manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) capabilities.

Dassault has announced the development of a combat drone that will side the Rafale F5 in the role of loyal wingman. Answering to a specific FW MAG question, Eric Trappier stated that “the new drone will be larger than the current systems under development for the SCAF/FCAS and it is thought for French Rafale and, maybe, export customers”. Indeed, the CEO specified that “this is a side programme that has nothing to do with the SCAF/FCAS. Rather, it serves the development of the Rafale to incorporate the most advanced technologies and to provide the French Air Force – in first stance – with such a key enabler”.

Hence, Trappier’s declaration would set a different approach in comparison to the one adopted by Airbus for its WINGMAN, unveiled at ILA. In fact, Airbus had indicated that the WINGMAN is expected to augment the Eurofighter Typhoon’s combat capabilities (following a requirement by the German Air Force), but that it will logically be part of the development pathway of remote carriers for FCAS. The new French drone would then be something different and more adapted to the French requirements, that may also include its use onboard aircraft carriers. No details have been disclosed so far.

Lastly, Dassault Aviation confirms that works on SCAF are ongoing withing the Phase 1B, which will last up until 2025. Negotiations for Phase 2 should be completed by the end of 2024 and will focus on the development of technological demonstrators to validate the new technologies and their integration. The Phase 2 is scheduled to last until 2028/2029. According to Trappier, the most difficult point under discussion is about the workshare between the different partners in the production of major parts of the flying demonstrator (in other words, who manufactures what).


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