On December 29, 2022, Dassault Aviation’s Mérignac plant delivered Rafale B359 (F3R standard) to the Direction Générale de l’Armement (French defense procurement agency), after a four-year hiatus.
The Rafale B359 is destined for the French Air and Space Forces. It is part of the «Tranche 4» order for 60 aircraft awarded in 2009.
Reprise des livraisons #Rafale à la France https://t.co/WSu593dzCY
Resumption of Rafale deliveries to France https://t.co/omoimvCZgd pic.twitter.com/Lw09rQZbdx— Dassault Aviation (@Dassault_OnAir) January 10, 2023
This event marks the resumption of Rafale fighter deliveries to France after a four-year break. In accordance with the various Military Programming Laws, deliveries to France were interrupted for budgetary reasons. The Rafale production line was then dedicated to export orders.
Another 27 aircraft remain to be delivered for Tranche 4, plus 12 Rafale ordered by France in 2021 to compensate for the 12 aircraft sold to Greece, taken from the French Air and Space Force stocks. Tranche 5 should be awarded in 2023.
A new contract is expected for Dassault for 12 Rafale F4 variants, to compensate for the 12 aircraft of the F3R variant (the most modern currently in service) sold to Croatia, also second-hand and from the Armée de l’air et de l’Espace.
See also: Croatia and France finalize Rafale sale agreement
Regarding the future Croatian fighters, former French Defense Minister Florence Parly had commented in 2021:
«These 12 second-hand Rafale sold to Croatia come from the ranks of the French Air Force: they will of course be replaced by new aircraft to be ordered from 2023.»
And given the speed with which Colombia needed to retire its Kfir fighters, it is quite likely that the French offer would also have included second-hand Rafale fighters, at least for part of its future fleet of 16 multirole fighters.
