France and the UAE Deepen Defence Ties with Rafale F5 Fighter Jet Deal

France and the United Arab Emirates have signed an intergovernmental agreement on the Rafale F5 fighter jet program, setting out the technical and financial framework for industrial cooperation on future combat aviation systems. The signing took place during a Gulf tour by French President Emmanuel Macron, with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed in attendance.

The agreement brings together UAE defense conglomerate Edge Group, French manufacturer Dassault Aviation, as well as France's Defence Ministry and its defense procurement agency, the DGA. It comes against a regional backdrop shaped by tensions from the Iran war, with Edge Group having played a role in countering Iranian drone attacks.

Macron's visit also produced several agreements outside the defense sector: in energy, between Adnoc Gas and Schneider Electric, and between Adnoc Refining and Technip Energies; and in technology, through a partnership between French startup AMI Labs and UAE players MBZUAI, G42, and Analog, covering cloud computing, AI research, and robotics.

The agreements, presented as a way to strengthen strategic autonomy in defense and reduce dependence on third countries, underline the scale of economic ties between the two nations: more than 600 French businesses operate in the UAE, and France exports roughly four billion dollars worth of goods there each year.

This account draws on reporting by The National.