Rafale Man Serge Dassault Passes Away

The name behind the maker of the Rafale Fighter Jet, Serge Dassault passed away on May 28, 2018 at the age of 93. Dassault’s name was especially known for the development of France's Mirage jet fighters, as well as for equipping the French Air Force and other militaries through global sales. He was the Chairman and CEO of the Dassault Group when he died, and the President of Dassault Aviation, which he once led

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Dassault Aviation is a French aerospace company founded by Serge Dassault’s father, Marcel Dassault. After the death of his father in 1986, he took charge of the company. When the group came under his direction, the world was about to change with the collapse of the Soviet Union and Europe found the opportunity to leave the US industrial hegemony in the defence sector. At that time, the Mirage family had almost reached its end on a successful note: the combat aircraft was – the Mirage 2000 – was sold to nine countries.

Dassault decided to take a look at something new. He concentrated on the Rafale programme with enthusiasm, despite criticism from peers, the French government and the navy. Less than twenty years later, the Rafale has managed to impose itself as one of the top fighter planes of its generation.

Dassault had also invested his family’s business interest into real estate, auction houses and media. The March 2018 edition of Forbes ranked Dassault as having the fourth-largest fortune in France, worth 19 billion euros ($22.6 billion.)