The UAE will buy a record number of Rafale fighter jets from France, reports Dassault Aviation. In July, the head of Rostec State Corporation Sergey Chemezov called this French aircraft an analogue of the promising Su-75.
The corresponding contract, involving the supply of 80 fighter jets, was signed in the presence of the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, Muhammad bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and French President Emmanuel Macron.
"This contract, which is the largest ever concluded by the French military aviation industry, which consolidates the national industrial base, which is, without a doubt, unique to Europe," said Eric Trappier, CEO of Dassault Aviation.
According to The Drive, the total value of the contract is $16 billion, and the first Rafale should arrive in 2024.
The publication notes that initially the UAE wanted to purchase American fifth-generation F-35 Lightning II fighters, which the US did not dare because of Israel's position, as well as Abu Dhabi's cooperation with Beijing. The Drive recalls that earlier Russia offered the UAE cooperation in the creation of a fifth-generation Su-75 single-engine fighter.
In November, the Defense Blog, with reference to the Dassault Aviation concern, reported that Croatia had signed a contract for the purchase of 12 Rafale fighters, which will replace the Soviet MiG-21.
Ivan Potapov
