Dassault Unveils First Rafale For UAE

French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation has unveiled the first Rafale fighter jet for the United Arab Emirates Air Force.

This is reported on the company’s official website.

The ceremony took place at the Dassault facility and was attended by Mohammed bin Mubarak bin Fadel Al Mazrouei, Minister of State of Defense of the UAE, and his French counterpart, Sébastien Lecornu.

The presented aircraft is manufactured in F4 configuration, which allowed to combine the best technologies and a wide range of missile and bomb weapons, including Meteor missiles and AASM bombs, on one platform.

According to company representatives, the presented aircraft will not be initially transferred to the UAE Air Force, but will be used for a series of flight evaluations and pilot training.

At the same time, the first batch of Rafale fighters is expected to be delivered in late 2026. It is not yet known how many aircraft will be in the first batch, but Dassault is seeking to increase production rates to deliver the aircraft to customers in a timely manner.

In total, the UAE Ministry of Defense has placed an order for 80 aircraft, which will replace the Mirage 2000-9 fighters produced by the same company in the country’s air force.

In March 2024, La Tribune, citing company representatives, reported that Dassault was increasing production of modern Rafale fighters due to a large package of orders.

The company plans to reach the production level of three Rafale aircraft per month in 2024. This step is due to a large portfolio of export orders, as well as an order placed by the French Air and Space Force.

The increase in production will enable the company to achieve an annual output of 33 Rafale fighter jets. The company has never had such a figure before, and the annual maximum for the entire production period was 24 aircraft.

Today, the production and delivery time for an aircraft to a customer is 36 months. This pace has not allowed the French Air and Space Force to carry out a full-scale re-equipment with this type of aircraft for more than 12 years. Currently, Dassault plans to start production of four aircraft per month.

Despite the increased pace of production, the company is unable to secure the necessary components from other suppliers, which creates new delays.