UAE is the biggest customer for French Rafale fighter

UAE is biggest buyer for French Dassault Rafale jet fighters, as use of U.S. F-35 stealth plane is in limbo. The contract to UAE comes as a boost to the French aerospace industry and the Rafale program in particular, which has now secured six export customers.

French aerospace company Dassault Aviation has won a mammoth order from the United Arab Emirates for 80 Rafale multirole jet fighters. The Drive reports. Continue reading original article

The deal was a long time in the making, with Emirati’s interest in the Rafale dating back to at least 2009. France will toast its success, while a potential order for as many as 50 F-35 Lockheed Martin stealth jet fighter-bombers, transfer of which was proposed under the previous Trump administration, remains in limbo.

A contract for the sale of the 80 Rafales was agreed today between Eric Trappier, Chairman and CEO of Dassault, and Tareq Abdul Raheem Al Hosani, CEO of Tawazun Economic Council, which is responsible for security and defense acquisitions on behalf of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Dassault describes the deal as “the largest ever obtained by the French combat aeronautics industry.” The total value of the Rafale contract is $16 billion, on top of which will be added weapons for the jets. These deals fall within a larger French arms package for the UAE worth $19 billion that also includes 12 Airbus H225M Caracal military transport helicopters.

Source: Military & Aerospace Electronics