"The Rafale of France is far superior to all Chinese aircraft on the market and is better than the F35."

In an interview with Challenges magazine, the CEO of Dassault Aviation, Eric Trappier, made the above remarks during the interview.

Moreover, in response to the question of whether the Rafale fighter jet is still at the top level after serving for 20 years, CEO Eric Trappier claimed, "The best is always more complex, but I sincerely believe that the Rafale has done the best in terms of 'comprehensive balance'."

On the other hand, when asked about the incident involving the loss of at least one Rafale fighter jet during the India-Pakistan air combat, Trappier's response was intriguing. He did not directly deny the loss of the Indian Air Force's Rafale fighters, only stating that the claim by Pakistan that it had shot down three Rafales was untrue, while emphasizing, "In World War II, we would not say they lost the war just because the Allies lost troops."

Oriental Comment: From a business operation perspective, Dassault's CEO's response was standard and regular. After all, capital operations start from interests; if it is not beneficial to capital operations, it will not be mentioned, and even if the product is beaten terribly, it still needs to make money.

However, to be honest, the truly difficult path for Dassault lies ahead. France's national strength is increasingly falling behind, and it is a fact that it has fallen behind the superpowers such as China and the US, especially the ultra-first-tier powers like China and the US. The development of modern fighters, especially fifth-generation and sixth-generation fighters, is closely linked to national strength. It is not something that can be achieved just because the CEO says, "because we won," so it will win.

The Rafale, as a fourth-plus generation fighter, will eventually become outdated. Not to mention the more advanced sixth-generation fighters, Dassault cannot even come up with a feasible and executable plan for the development of fifth-generation fighters. Its products are still at the PPT stage, relying on imagination. Now, the CEO can still rely on propaganda to stubbornly defend the public opinion front, but what about 10 years later or 20 years later? It should be noted that the Earth does not turn according to the will of the French. When technical backwardness and lack of national strength influence lead to unsold products, no matter how stubborn one may be, it will only add to the ridicule.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1835237449932812/

Disclaimer: This article represents the author's personal views.