The French company Dassault Aviation has released its annual report on the production of Rafale fighters for the year 2024, along with the current order backlog for these aircraft.
According to the report, a total of 21 Rafale aircraft were delivered throughout 2024, with 14 allocated for the French Air Force and 7 for export. This production of 21 aircraft exceeded the plan by one fighter. In contrast, in 2023, Dassault produced significantly fewer Rafale units—only 13.
Regarding the overall order backlog, it has increased by 9 aircraft compared to 2023 and now stands at 220 Rafale, of which 164 are for export and 56 for France. The growth in the number of ordered aircraft is attributed to a solid contract with Serbia, which ordered 12 Rafale from France at a price of 225 million euros per aircraft.
Considering that Dassault regularly publishes such reports, it is possible to observe the dynamics of recent years regarding the production of Rafale fighters and their order backlog. The data is as follows:
- 2024: produced - 21, backlog - 220
- 2023: produced - 13, backlog - 211
- 2022: produced - 14, backlog - 164
- 2021: produced - 25, backlog - 86
- 2020: produced - 13, backlog - 62
- 2019: produced - 26, backlog - 75
Thus, it is becoming increasingly difficult to label the production of Rafale fighters as stable, and discussions about increasing fighter output may be contentious. However, there is no debate regarding the extremely active growth of the order backlog for these fighters. Currently, Dassault's production capabilities can only keep pace with this demand over a 10-year timeframe.