UAE To Buy 80 Rafale Fighter Jets from France

The UAE Ministry of Defense announced in a statement today that the UAE has signed a contract with France that includes purchasing 80 Rafale fighter jets to replace the UAE Air Force Mirage fleet in addition to training and maintenance purposes.

Commenting on this deal, Major General Staff Pilot Ibrahim Nasser Al Alawi, UAE Commander of the Air Force and Air Defense, said: "The UAE has been in a process of a thorough review of global markets for options. Based on our talks with our French counterparts, we came to a mutual agreement that the Rafale provide the best option for the UAE security and defense."

سعدت باستقبال صديقي ايمانويل ماكرون. أجرينا مباحثات بناءة حول علاقات البلدين وشهدنا توقيع اتفاقيات في العديد من المجالات. في إطار شراكتهما الاستراتيجية تمضي الإمارات وفرنسا نحو تعميق مصالحهما المشتركة وترسيخ أسس السلام والاستقرار في المنطقة والعالم. pic.twitter.com/Yyzve8XteE

— محمد بن زايد (@MohamedBinZayed) December 3, 2021

In a statement released by Dassault Aviation, the new Rafale deal “represent thousands of guaranteed jobs in our sector for the coming decade.”

Additionally, Emmanuel Macron took to Twitter to add that the UAE has also placed a deal to buy 12 Caracal helicopters (Airbus Helicopters H225M).

Avec les Émirats arabes unis, nous scellons aujourd’hui la vente de 80 avions Rafale et 12 hélicoptères Caracal. En confiance, nous agissons ensemble pour notre sécurité.

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) December 3, 2021

Major General Al Alawi added, "The signed contract with France is not a substitute for the US F-35 ongoing discussions. It's rather a complementary to our Air Force capabilities as we continue to develop our air defense systems and seek new products and advanced technologies as part of our overall National Security Strategy."

This article was previously published on UAE Moments.To see the original article, click here