"Canada is
potentially the first country that could challenge the F-35," Trappier
said.
"We are ready to explain what a Rafale
offer could be, its operational capabilities and an industrial cooperation,"
he added in an interview due to be published in Les Echos' Wednesday
edition.
Canadian officials said last month that the government would restart
the process of searching for a new fighter for Canada's air force after
soaring costs spurred a rethink of plans to buy Lockheed Martin Corp's
F-35.
They said it was still possible that Ottawa would eventually decide
to buy the F-35,
dismissing reports Canada had decided to walk away from the jet.
Dassault describes its Rafale
as being an "omnirole" fighter, a tag that it says denotes
the type's ability to perform multiple mission types simultaneously.
This differs from the widely adopted multi-role description used by
its rivals largely as a result of the aircraft's ability to provide
its pilot with data fused from onboard sensors, it says.
India last year selected Dassault Aviation as its preferred bidder in
a USD 10 billion (7.6 billion euro) contract to equip its air force
with new fighter jets.
If the contract is finalised, the first 18 aircraft will be supplied
directly by Dassault and the remainder will be produced under licence
by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, a state-run Indian firm, in Bangalore.
The Rafale
has been used in combat over Afghanistan and Libya.