Ukraine signs letter of intent to buy up to 100 Rafale warplanes from France

Ukraine has signed a letter of intent to buy up to 100 Rafale warplanes from France over the next 10 years, the two leaders said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who signed the document with French President Emmanuel Macron, called it “a historic deal” at a joint news conference at the Elysee presidential palace in Paris.

The letter states that Ukraine is considering the possibility of buying French defence equipment.

“Firstly, Ukraine will be able to receive 100 Rafale fighter jets (and) very strong French radars – eight air defence systems SAMP/T, each with six launching systems,” he said.

“This is a strategic agreement that will work for 10 years, starting next year.”

Mr Macron said: “Today we’re moving to a next step.”

He said Monday’s agreement includes the acquisition of France’s latest-generation jet fighters with full armament, as well as accompanying training and production programmes.

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, Mr Macron added.

The chief of the French defence staff, Air Force General Fabien Mandon, this month told French senators that the European-made SAMP/T that France provided to Ukraine is proving more effective than US-made Patriot batteries against hard-to-hit Russian missiles.

Mr Zelensky, on his ninth visit to Paris since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, is seeking to strengthen Ukraine’s defences as the country enters another winter under Russian bombardment of its energy infrastructure and other targets.

On Monday morning, both leaders visited an air base in the Paris outskirts, before heading to 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 police an eventual ceasefire in Ukraine.

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.

Mr Zelensky wrote on X on Sunday that he looked forward to a “historic deal with France in Paris to strengthen our combat aviation and air defence”.

He made a stop in Greece on his way to France to sign an agreement to supply Ukraine with US liquefied natural gas.

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.

France is among major suppliers of defence assistance to Ukraine, including air defence systems and fighter jets.

According to Gen Mandon, Ukraine needs immediate additional air defences to fend off attacks by Russia, which on average targets the country with about 1,700 drones per week plus missiles.

“We helped Ukraine by deploying missile and drone interception systems called the SAMP/T system. The Russians adapted the flight profiles of their most advanced missiles because they realised they were being intercepted by Ukrainian defences. Today, the Patriot system is struggling to intercept them, but the SAMP/T is intercepting them,” Gen Mandon said.