Rafale fighter in the sights of the Vietnam Air Force?

Rafale fighter in the sights of the Vietnam Air Force?

Friday, October 11, 2024 23:59 PM (GMT+7)

Rafale fighter jets are considered the most promising weapon that France can provide to Vietnam in the future.

After upgrading the comprehensive strategic partnership, the French press said that Vietnam could buy advanced weapons produced by this country, typically the Rafale fighter jet. According to Opex360.

Vietnam has long been considered a traditional customer of military equipment and weapons produced by the Soviet Union/Russia. According to Opex360.

This context sometimes leads Western analysts to make assumptions such as Vietnam wants to buy S-400, Su-57, even though it is only based on statements from officials in Moscow. Given the above situation, the comment that Vietnam can proceed to buy weapons from France sounds quite surprising, but is considered very logical. According to Opex360.

To begin with, the French website Opex360 recalls that Vietnam finds it more beneficial to modernize its T-54/55 tanks with the participation of Israel than to try to buy more T-90S. According to Opex360.

Moreover, “traditional” cooperation with Russia has not become a factor helping the Vietnamese armed forces purchase new equipment and weapons on a large scale. According to Opex360.

One proof is that of the 1,400 tanks currently in service, the majority are still T-54/55s and T-62s, and sometimes even the ancient SU-100 tank destroyers from World War II "light up" during coastal defense exercises. According to Opex360.

Meanwhile, we can mention France as a new partner supplying weapons to Vietnam, because there are many favorable conditions. According to Opex360.

On October 7, 2024, General Secretary and President of Vietnam To Lam paid an official visit to Paris, where he held talks with President Emmanuel Macron, especially on the development of defense cooperation directions that have been laid the foundation. According to Opex360.

At the same time, the General Secretary and President of Vietnam also had meetings with the leaders of defense corporations Airbus and Safran, but there were no details about the content of the discussions. According to Opex360.

Opex360 notes that in 2013, France and Vietnam signed a defense cooperation agreement, creating a suitable strategic foundation for “cooperation in the defense industry.” France itself believes that Vietnam, with a population of 100 million and a growing defense budget, will be a promising partner for cooperation in many areas. According to Opex360.

Even if everything above still seems general, Vietnam's intention to tighten defense cooperation with France by upgrading the partnership to a comprehensive strategic level is already a tectonic shift in the world arms market, according to observers. In the long term, this could even lead to the purchase of Rafale fighters as one of the iconic products of the French defense industry, to operate alongside the Russian-made Su-30MK2 - which is still the mainstay of the Vietnamese Air Force. According to Opex360.

PV (according to ANTĐ)

Source: https://danviet.vn/tiem-kich-rafale-lot-vao-tam-ngam-cua-khong-quan-viet-nam-202410112304041.htm