First part of UAE’s 80 Rafale F4 delivery program is in full swing

By TOC

PARIS, ($1=0.93 Euros) — On April 19, Dassault announced that the UAE had paid the first installment for the 80 Rafale F4 delivery program and that the aircraft destined for the UAE was now officially included in the company’s production planning, learned BulgarianMilitary.com, citing DefenceReview.

First part of UAE's 80 Rafale F4 delivery program is in full swing
Photo credit: Dassault Rafale

The public tender was announced in early December 2021. The value of the contract is in the order of 16 billion euros and includes aircraft, maintenance, and weapons. The first aircraft are expected to be delivered in 2027, while deliveries should be completed in 2031.

Development of the F4 version began in January 2019 and is expected to be completed by 2022. Development of the F4 version is based on the Air Force F3R version and includes significant improvements such as RBE-2AA radar AESA technology, and air missile certification. air MICA NG [new generation] and Meteor [maximum range over 100 km], guided bombs AASM [Armement Air-Sol Modulaire], and target and tactical TALIOS.

The Rafale F3-R also includes an automatic ground collision avoidance system. In addition, version F4 will have increased capabilities for missions and operations in a network-oriented environment, while the processes of collecting, processing, and transmitting information and data will be improved, both in terms of computing power and storage, and in terms of regarding the speed of data processing and the security of their transmission to and from other convenient platforms. Finally, the Rafale F4 will include Thales’ new Scorpion headphones.

France bought new Rafales to replace the 'Greek' fighters
Photo credit: Wikipedia

UAE donates Mirage 2000 to Morocco

According to a report on the Mondafrique website, a large part of the UAE Mirage-2000 9/EAD/RAD fleet will end up in Morocco and the UAE has offered the planes completely free of charge.

Earlier, the same news was published in a Spanish newspaper. At the time, the report was neither confirmed by official sources nor denied. Mondafrique said, citing a “well-informed source”, that the agreement between Morocco and the UAE was a fact and that Morocco would acquire most of these fighters without giving a number. BulgarianMilitary.com reminds us that the Emirates is currently operating with 59 units of the French fighter.

The Spanish newspaper reported on the concession of Mirage-2000 9/EAD/RAD from the UAE to Morocco and Egypt but did not specify the number for each country. The French website meta-Defense, which deals with the issue, said Morocco would receive 34 aircraft.

Reinforcement of the Greek Air Force - 43 Mirage fighters return to the air
Photo credit: The Print

The Mondafrique report states that preparations for the acceptance of the aircraft have already begun, but with an unknown arrival date, and that the training of pilots and technicians has already begun. “Two weeks ago, technicians were sent to the UAE for training. The delivery of the planes will take place gradually.”

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