Dassault Aviation received first installment for delivery of 80 Rafale F4 to United Arab Emirates.

Laurent Lagneau recalls on opex360 that, on December 3, 2021, the United Arab Emirates signed an order for a total amount of approximately 16 billion euros to procure 80 Rafale fighter-bombers of the F-4 standard and the associated ammunition. However, a contract never comes into force immediately after being signed: for this, the customer must pay an initial deposit to the manufacturer concerned. And so that's what just happened.

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The Rafale F4 standard is still under development (Picture source: Dassault Aviation)

Hence, "Today we received the first installment of the contract for the acquisition by the United Arab Emirates of 80 Rafale", announced Dassault Aviation, via a press release published on April 19. In concrete terms, this means that the contract signed by the United Arab Emirates can now officially be entered into the manufacturer's order book, Laurent Lagneau writes. As of December 31, 2021, it had 86 Rafales [including 31 for Egypt, 6 for Greece and 12 for the Air & Space Force to replace the second-hand aircraft sold to its counterpart Greek].

The strategic partnership between France and the UAE was recently illustrated by the participation of 7 Rafales from the 1/7 Provence squadron, based in al-Dhafra, in strengthening the air defense system of the United Arab Emirates, after several drone and missile attacks attributed to the Houtis rebels operating in Yemen.

As a reminder, Laurent Lagneau writes, the Rafale F4 standard is still under development. Focused on collaborative combat, it will be equipped with increased connectivity for network operations, via the integration of the CONTACT radio, a secure communication server, a satellite transmission solution [SATCOM] and a new generation of the multilevel gateway [E-SNA for Extension of the Navigation and Armament System]. It will also have an RBE2-AESA Active Antenna Radar with new features, Frontal Sector Optronics [OSF] and an improved RAfale Fire Lines Protection and Avoidance System [SPECTRA].

The United Arab Emirates will receive their first Rafale F4 from 2027, with deliveries extending until 2031.