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PARIS, Dec 3 (Reuters) - A 17-billion-euro ($19.23 billion)
French arms deal with the United Arab Emirates will secure the
industrial supply chain for France's Rafale warplane for the
next decade and directly support 7,000 domestic jobs, a French
defence ministry official said.
The deal, sealed on Friday, includes the largest ever
overseas sale of the French warplane. It brings the number of
new or second-hand Rafales sold for export to 236 and will
trigger an increase in production for the warplane, the official
told reporters.
The sale deepens existing security ties between France and
the UAE at a time when diplomats say U.S. allies in the Middle
East are increasingly questioning the commitment of the United
States to the region following its exit from Afghanistan.
The French official said the contract demonstrated the
appetite of several nations to "diversify their security".
The deal is worth 14 billion euros for 80 of Dassault
Aviation's Rafale fighters, 2 billion for air-to-air
and cruise missiles supplied by European consortium MBDA
and 1 billion for 12 Airbus H225M
Caracal helicopters, the official said.
The sale involves the latest F-4 standard of Rafale being
developed for the French air force, which aims to increase
connectivity and shared target identification between the jets,
following the example of the U.S. Lockheed Martin F-35.
Defence sources have said the Rafale would replace a fleet
of Dassault Mirage 2000 jets already deployed in the UAE and is
unlikely to displace an order for the F-35 as the UAE continues
to hedge its security between two major suppliers.
However, the deal is widely seen as a signal of impatience
as the U.S. Congress hesitates on approving an F-35 deal amid
concerns about the UAE's relationship with China, including the
prevalence of Huawei 5G technology in the country.
The French official said the deal included no provision to
buy back Mirage 2000s or carry out industrial offset
investments.
($1 = 0.8839 euros)
(Reporting by Tim Hepher,John Irish;
Writing by Benoit Van Overstraeten, Tim Hepher;
Editing by Sudio Kar-Gupta and Susan Fenton)
