Posted on 06/27/2012 9:54:17 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
France Eyes Sale of Missiles for U.S.-Made F-16 Fighters -Report
France's military procurement agency DGA is considering authorizing the sale by Sagem, a unit of French aerospace supplier Safran SA (SAF.FR), of its AASM air-to-ground missiles to equip the F-16 fighter made by Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) of the U.S., reports Les Echos, citing unnamed sources.
It says the proposal is unlikely to please Dassault Aviation (AM.FR) which makes the Rafale multi-role combat aircraft that competes with the F-16.
Sagem sells the AASM to foreign buyers in cooperation with MBDA, a missile maker whose shareholders include European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co NV (EAD.FR), BAE Systems PLC (BA.LN) and
(Excerpt) Read more at nasdaq.com ...
Nice missile. Basically a rocket-boosted JDAM. I can see why the opening of the system to Lockmart may displease Dassault. After all, the Viper is already better bang for buck for most of the airforces that may be comparing it to the Rafale, and for those that may require the higher capabilities present in the Rafale over the Viper (eg India) there is the Typhoon to consider. Since one of the advantages the Rafale had over the Typhoon was it’s more developed air to ground capability (with the AASM ‘Hammer’ being one of the key factors here), I am sure the Hammer being made available to all and sundry wouldn’t particularly make Dassault happy.
AASMunch missile merchants making mean money.
To soon to be Islamic France
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