PARIS (AP) — Ukraine on Monday signed a letter of intent to buy up to 100 Rafale warplanes, drones, air defense systems and other key equipment from France over the next 10 years, as part of efforts to strengthen the country’s long-term security.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who signed the document with French President Emmanuel Macron, called it “a historic deal” at a joint news conference at the Elysée presidential palace. The letter is a preliminary commitment of Ukraine stating its interest in buying a series of French defense equipment.
“Firstly, Ukraine will be able to receive 100 Rafale fighter jets (and) very strong French radars — eight air-defense systems SAMP/T, each with six launching systems,” Zelenskyy said. “This is a strategic agreement that will work for 10 years, starting next year.”
Macron praised “a new step forward” in France-Ukraine relationship.
He said Monday’s agreement includes France’s latest-generation jet fighters with full armament, as well as accompanying training and production programs.
The Rafale is France’s most advanced fighter jet, a high-tech, delta-winged, multi-role warplane known for its manoeuvrability and efficiency. It has been deployed in the country’s foreign military operations including in the Middle East and Africa, and comes at a cost estimated at over $100 million per aircraft.
The letter of intent also includes the acquisition of drones and drone interceptors, guided bombs and the next-generation SAMP/T ground-to-air systems, with first deliveries expected over the next three years, Macron said.
The chief of the French defense staff, Air Force Gen. Fabien Mandon, this month told French senators that the European-made SAMP/T that France provided to Ukraine are proving more effective than U.S.-made Patriot batteries against hard-to-hit Russian missiles.
No schedule was provided for the delivery of the first Rafales.
A French government official said training a Rafale pilot takes at least three years.
The official, who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly on the issue, said France is able to produce and accelerate the production of Rafales and won’t need to use the warplanes currently in service by the French military to supply Ukraine. The official said the agreement with Ukraine won’t derail the delivery of Rafales to other foreign clients.
The plane manufacturer, Dassault Aviation, has sold more than 500 Rafales, including more than 300 for export to countries including Egypt, India, Qatar, Greece, Croatia, the United Arab Emirates, Serbia and Indonesia.
Zelenskyy, on his ninth visit to Paris since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, seeks to strengthen Ukraine’s defenses as the country enters another winter under Russian bombardment of its energy infrastructure and other targets.
Last month, Ukraine and Sweden signed an agreement exploring the possibility of Ukraine buying up to 150 Swedish-made Gripen fighter jets over the next decade or more. Ukraine has already received American-made F-16s and French Mirages.
“I can tell you that this is a very serious fleet that we are building for Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said. “For example, those pilots who have practice with Mirage jets, we know it very well that they won’t spend a year to learn operating the future Rafale planes, they will instead quickly switch to them.”
France is among major suppliers of defense assistance to Ukraine.
On Monday morning, Macron and Zelenskyy visited an air base in the Paris outskirts. They later headed to Mont Valérien, west of Paris, the headquarters of a multinational force dubbed the “coalition of the willing” that France and Britain have been preparing with more than 30 other nations to deploy to Ukraine to police an eventual ceasefire.
French officials say the force could be deployed immediately after a ceasefire and would be stationed away from the front lines in an effort to help dissuade renewed Russian attacks. Russian President Vladimir Putin has so far rejected calls for a ceasefire as his troops make creeping gains on the battlefield.
No details were provided on Monday about the financing of the defense package for Ukraine. Kyiv is pushing to use money from Russia’s frozen assets to pay for the weapons, but the European Union has not yet agreed to it.
“I believe that in the end we’ll reach an agreement to push this topic to the end and be able to use Russian assets for the European defense package, for Ukrainian production, and for the most part for the air defense systems from the United States of America,” Zelenskyy said.
Zelensky made a stop in Greece on Sunday to sign an agreement to supply Ukraine with U.S. liquefied natural gas, and is due to travel to Spain on Tuesday.
___
Associated Press writers John Leicester in Paris, Illia Novikov and Barry Hatton in Kyiv, Ukraine contributed to the report.
___
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
