France and the United Arab Emirate have signed a historic deal where Franche will sell a total of 80 Rafale fighter jets to the Emirate country. The deal was signed on Friday, and manufacturer Dassault Aviation will make the supply.
The 80 Rafale fighter jets, also include 12 military helicopters, a move which is targetted at deepening economic and political ties with France through an arms contract worth 17 billion euros ($19.20 billion).
According to the report by AFP, the above figure is much higher than that of the initial call for tenders which mentioned a need for 63 devices. This order is the largest obtained internationally for the fighter aircraft since it entered service in 2004.
“This is a major achievement of the strategic partnership between the two countries”, welcomed the French presidency in a press release. The Minister of the Armed Forces, Florence Parly, has meanwhile evoked “a historic contract”.
For his part, Eric Trappier, CEO of Daussault Aviation, hailed “a French success”. “I want to thank the UAE authorities for renewing their confidence in our planes. After the Mirage 5 and the Mirage 2000, this Rafale contract confirms the strategic relationship that unites our two countries and the satisfaction of the Air Force of United Arab Emirates, a long-standing and demanding partner of our society, ”he added.
The 80 Rafale Fighter Jets To Be Delivered From 2027
The agreement was signed by Eric Trapier, while Emmanuel Macron spoke with the crown prince of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyane, says MBZ, on the site of the World Expo.
The planes will be delivered from 2027, a program in development of nearly two billion euros deliverable in 2024 and presented as a “technological, industrial and strategic leap”. This order aims to replace the 60 Mirage 2000-9 acquired in 1998 by the Emirates.
It comes ten years after fruitless negotiations supported by former French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Since then, the Rafale has made an international breakthrough despite competition from American and European aircraft. It now has six foreign customers: Qatar (36 planes), India (36), Egypt (30 new in addition to 24), Greece and Croatia.
The Emirates are currently the fifth most important customer of the French defense industry over the decade 2011-2020, with 4.7 billion euros in orders, according to the report to Parliament on arms exports from the France. In recent years, Paris has been criticized because some of these weapons had been used in the conflict in Yemen, where Saudi Arabia and its allies are suspected of war crimes by NGOs like Amnesty International.