Rafale seen from the front of the Sanicole Airshow in Belgium. Photo taken by Tom Houquet./www.dassault-aviation.com
On December 3, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ordered 80 Dassault Rafale fighter jets and 12 Eurocopter EC725 Caracal military helicopters in a massive arms deal with France.
The deal was signed at a ceremony between Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan and French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the Dubai Expo 2020.
In a statement, the French Presidency said that the deal is worth $19 billion. This makes it the largest ever overseas sale of the French warplane.
“This contract cements a strategic partnership that is stronger than ever and directly contributes to regional stability,” the statement reads.
French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly described the arms deal as “historic,” promising that it will provide hundreds of new jobs in France. Shares in Dassault Aviation SA , the Rafale’s manufacturer, rose more than 9% after the deal.
The advanced Rafales will most likely replace the UAE Air Force’s ageing Mirage 2000 fighter jets, which will likely be stored or sold.
By purchasing Rafale fighter jets, the UAE is following the footsteps of Qatar, which has bought 36 of the craft, and Egypt which ordered 24 in 2015 and 30 earlier this year.
The massive arms deal will without a doubt give a major boost to the already strong relations between the UAE and France.
Why are they doing that? I’m also having difficulty commenting on SF. Looks like the censorship against them by Google is well-deserved. What goes around comes around. They do this because they are afraid of having their view challenged. Most of their posts have been aggressive propaganda that is most times downright idiotic. They are trying to get rid of all alternative voices on their platform – preferring a cheerleading and obedient reader-base fully subservient to the Kremlin. Great thanks to Google, Facebook, and all the other tech giants that are pushing back against a massive Russian disinformation campaign targeting the Muslim world and Europe. The earlier countries like wake up to this propaganda war the better. The Russian federation will certainly pay for this heinous crime. Make no mistake about that. It was your invasion of Afghanistan that disintegrated the Soviet Union. Your invasion of Syria will disintegrate Russia itself before all this is over.
The Objective?
Obviously no one is blocking you, you are either a lying troll or a complete imbecile. Or both actually. Even more retarded than IronZ.