Interesting choice of words.... U.S. "Pressure" instead of U.S. "Competition."  Its like they are blaming the failure of the Rafale to secure foreign orders on kickbacks or what not instead of the fact that in head to head competition Rafale's competitors came out ahead. 

 

*sigh*  No one takes responsibility for anything anymore.  "It cannot be that the plane doesn't meet there needs or is too expensive for what you get, its that the other guy cheated!!!"

given the bucks at stake in this it would be far more of a shock to find gov'ts weren't exerting pressure to favour their own manufacturers.  the usa simply has more ways to do this than the french.

I think the days of dozens of aerospace firms selling dozens of aircrafts like selling hot cars is long gone.  The only practical way for most manufacturing states to procure a significant number of warplanes is to colloborate with close allies, as the R&D alone is hungry for capital as hell and the need to have a lump of allies to get to gether to reduce the unit cost.  If you want to design and sell on your own, probably the most optimistic scenario is that of the Gripen -- you are not going to have a chance with big firms, and instead you have to settle with niche markets.  Even the most monstrous of the aerospace firms cannot do all by themselves.  To add headaches for those like the Rafale, a large number of states do not even necessarily need top-of-the-line stuffs, especially those from the 3rd world.  They will find second-hand F-16s and MiG's more attractive, provided that they are reasonably well refurbished and considarably cheaper, too.  Not to mention that apart from predominantly US-led wars, there is not much of a demand for top-of-the-line fighters.

 

Perhaps drooling and going crazy over top-of-the-line fighters a bit too much is something less than a smart thing to do?  After all, if anything, not-so-hot flying thingies like cargo/transport, AWACS, and maritime patrol aircrafts are the ones who deserve more attention as many of their fleet are getting pretty old, and these big boys can do essential jobs than no hyper-fighter can possibly do.