Pointblank
Senior Member
Depends on what the actual deal entails. If it is only for the airplanes, then it seems a little high. But if it includes a massive support tail, weapons, infrastructure, it makes sense.
France confirms major arms deal with Libya
- Thread starter adeptitus
- Start date
Depends on what the actual deal entails. If it is only for the airplanes, then it seems a little high. But if it includes a massive support tail, weapons, infrastructure, it makes sense.
Libya does have some oil fields and ever since he decided to give up his WMDs, Western companies have begun drilling in his land so military spending may end up going up.
D
Deleted member 675
Guest
Yeah, but I don't think he'd spend so much on a small number of jets like that - he's not rich like the Arab Gulf states yet.
Also if it had gone ahead I would have expected it to be announced with the recent arms sale.
Skywatcher
Captain
Qaddafi would want more bang for his buck. He'd be better off with getting Mirage 2000s, which would also be less of a pain maintenance wise.
Libya was reported to be negotiating for purchase of 20 MiG-29 SMT and 12 Su-30MK's. However to best of my knowledge the deal is not finalized, and no aircraft has been delivered.
For western aircraft, the cheapest option for Libyan Air Force would be to refurbish its fleet of 22-24 Mirage F-1's, via S. Africa or France (F1-CT). Both S. Africa and France have a supply of F-1's in storage, which could be purchased for replacements or spares.
For eastern aircraft, MiG offers a MiG-23-98 upgrade program for only $1 million USD per plane. Libya has a fleet of 120+ MiG-23's that could be upgraded as an interim solution. There's also various MiG-21 upgrades, Su-22M5, and Su-24M2 upgrades from Russia.
The Libyan AF has too many old aircraft in numbers and variety. If Qaddafi wants to spend the $, he should probably look to consolidate and replace them with fewer but modern multi-mission capable aircraft, more suitable for a nation of its size and budget. Perhaps a fleet of Su-30MKM's will be far cheaper than Rafales?
For western aircraft, the cheapest option for Libyan Air Force would be to refurbish its fleet of 22-24 Mirage F-1's, via S. Africa or France (F1-CT). Both S. Africa and France have a supply of F-1's in storage, which could be purchased for replacements or spares.
For eastern aircraft, MiG offers a MiG-23-98 upgrade program for only $1 million USD per plane. Libya has a fleet of 120+ MiG-23's that could be upgraded as an interim solution. There's also various MiG-21 upgrades, Su-22M5, and Su-24M2 upgrades from Russia.
The Libyan AF has too many old aircraft in numbers and variety. If Qaddafi wants to spend the $, he should probably look to consolidate and replace them with fewer but modern multi-mission capable aircraft, more suitable for a nation of its size and budget. Perhaps a fleet of Su-30MKM's will be far cheaper than Rafales?