On October 23, French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu announced that the French government is negotiating with Saudi Arabia to sell 54 Rafale fighter jets to this wealthy Middle Eastern country.
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| Saudi Arabia is negotiating to buy Rafale fighter jets from France. (Source: France 24) |
On October 23, French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu announced that the French government is negotiating with Saudi Arabia about selling Rafale fighter jets to this wealthy Middle Eastern country.
Speaking to reporters, Minister Lecornu said there had been "discussions" between Dassault Aviation - the manufacturer of the Rafale - and Saudi Arabia about a potential deal, but did not give further details.
Saudi Arabia, whose air force is mainly equipped with US F-15 fighters and Eurofighter jets built by Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain, has asked Dassault to estimate the cost of buying 54 Rafale jets by November 10, the weekly La Tribune Dimanche reported.
France - the world's third-largest arms exporter after the US and Russia - has sold 80 Rafale jets to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for an estimated 16 billion euros ($17 billion) by 2022. Indonesia, Greece, India, Qatar and Egypt are also Rafale customers.
The Rafale, a twin-engine multirole fighter, is the French arms industry's best-seller and helped boost French arms exports to a record high last year.
France has so far sold more than half of its Rafale aircraft abroad. However, NGOs often criticize France for supplying weapons, including Rafale fighters, to markets that are 'different' from Western democracies.
However, the French Defense Ministry said in a report last year that France always respected its “international commitments” and that arms exports were subject to “very strict regulations” and export controls.
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