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I was told by senior industry officials at the Summer Defense University held in Brittany earlier this month (see my earlier posts) that the principal reason for renewed optimism for a sale not only to the UAE but also possibly to Qatar comes from the tremendously good impression their respective air forces got from the use of the Scalp missile -- made by MBDA -- in Libya.As you may know the UAE and Qatari airforces flew joint operations with the French over Libya and so were able to see first hand the Rafale as a weapon system in a real combat situation.And even if the Scalp could be deployed from a different aircraft, it is blindingly clear that if they want the Scalp they'll have to buy the Rafale.Here's a Scalp all dressed up.And here it is undressed and ready to go. Photos taken by me at the Solenzara air base in Corsica earlier this year.
Tags: ar99, tacair, UAE