1984 isn't young either and that's after the split. I read in this other forum (no link) that MICA is almost double the price of AIM-120s, and has a smaller no escape zone. Years later and it still can't mark it's own targets in 2007, the Mirage 2000s the fighter it's replacing does that for it. Vipers have been doing this for years and has a better radar too I'm not surprised. I still like the Rafale but government slow downs added six to eight years onto the program it's just not as special anymore, still good. Even the $120/110 mil per Typhoon just dropped there first LGB so both these aircraft came into production very late ready. To me its upper management problems from day one why this capable fighter doesn't have any sales yet. If the F-35 was finished today and fighters were coming off the production lines both of the above fighters would be in trouble.
Quote
* Dassault began work on a "Rafale A" technology demonstrator effort in March 1984, with the machine rolled out on 14 December 1985. It was a sleek, single-seat, canard delta machine, fitted with two General Electric F404-GE-400 afterburning turbofans as used by the US F-18 Hornet, since the SNECMA M88 was not ready at that time. The demonstrator performed its first flight on 4 July 1986. It exceeded Mach 1.3 on this initial flight and Mach 1.8 a few days later. The Rafale A made its first formal public debut in
September 1986. The demonstrator's capabilities were impressive enough to encourage the French Ministry of Defense to place a production order for the Rafale in April 1988.
Link for above
http://www.vectorsite.net/avrafa.html