Faut pas rêver : le jour ou ls Saoudiens commanderont des Rafales, les poules auront des dentsDeltafan a écrit : ↑ven. mai 24, 2024 1:00 pmArticle Reuters, avec le titre : US, Saudis close to deal on defense pact, White House says
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-ea ... 024-05-20/
Donc, il y a encore quelques mois, l'administration Biden refusait de fournir de l'armement à l'Arabie Saoudite à cause de sa guerre au Yemen face aux Houthis (dont on peut mieux voir aujourd'hui la nature réelle...) et de l'assassinat d'un journaliste d'opposition dans l'ambassade d'Arabie Saoudite en Turquie, et, aujourd'hui, la même administration serait prête à lui livrer des F-35, dans le cadre plus large d'un accord de défense bilatéral...The United States and Saudi Arabia are close to a final agreement on a bilateral defense pact after the U.S. national security adviser made significant progress in talks with the Saudis over the weekend, the White House said on Monday.
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said the two sides are "closer than we've ever been" on a bilateral agreement that is now "near final."
U.S. and Saudi negotiators are seeking to complete work on a bilateral accord expected to call for formal U.S. guarantees to defend the kingdom as well as Saudi access to more advanced U.S. weaponry, in return for halting Chinese arms purchases and restricting Beijing’s investment in the country.
Negotiators have been discussing U.S. sales of F-35 fighter jets and other weapons to the Saudis as part of the deal, a U.S. official said.
The potential sale of the F-35s to the Saudis was not guaranteed for a variety of reasons, but its inclusion in the discussions was significant because Riyadh has desired the stealthy fighter jet for years. Any deal must satisfy a longstanding agreement with Israel that U.S. weapons sold in the region must not impair Israel's "qualitative military edge," guaranteeing U.S. weapons furnished to Israel are "superior in capability" to those sold to its neighbors. The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations and House of Representatives Foreign Affairs committees, whose members have criticized the kingdom's role in civilian deaths in Yemen, have the right to review, and block, weapons sales under an informal review process. Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N), opens new tab, which makes the jet, referred a request for comment to the government.
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Quoi qu'il en soit, ça pourrait n'être pas bon pour le Rafale (même si ce sont des F-15 EX qui sont livrés à la place des F-35). Ca me fait d'ailleurs penser à la proposition "instantanée" du F-35 à l'Inde le jour même où cette dernière avait annoncé le choix du Rafale (contre l'EF, donc même pas un avion américain, en finale) pour le contrat MMRCA...
