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Qatar agrees to buy 24 Rafale fighter jets from France

Qatar has agreed to buy 24 Dassault Aviation-built Rafale fighter jets in a deal worth 6.3 billion euros ($7.05 billion), the French government said on Thursday, as the Gulf Arab state looks to boost its military firepower amid regional instability.

Officials said the accord also provided for the training of a number of Qatari intelligence officers.

Tensions in the Middle East with conflicts in Yemen, Syria and Libya, as well as fears of Iran's growing influence in the area, have fuelled a desire across Sunni Gulf Arab states to modernise their military hardware.

The contract, the third this year for Dassault after deals to sell fighter jets to Egypt and India, also includes MBDA missiles, and the training of 36 Qatari pilots and 100 technicians by the French army, a French Defence Ministry official said.

"The president spoke to Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, the Emir of Qatar, who confirmed his desire to buy 24 Rafale combat planes," President Francois Hollande's office said in a statement.

A French air force Rafale.

Hollande will travel to Doha on May 4 to sign the contract before heading to Saudi Arabia as an honorary guest at a summit of Gulf Arab leaders.

The Rafale sales have lifted French arms exports this year to about 15 billion euros and have been a welcome boost for Dassault, which had been under increasing pressure to sell the plane overseas after years of failures.

Dassault shares were up 2.1 percent at 0912 GMT.

The French government said last year that it would slow the pace at which it takes delivery of Rafale jets to just 26 over the next five years instead of 11 every year.

Dassault is also in talks aimed at supplying 16 of the multi-role combat jets to Malaysia and has resumed discussions over potential fighter sales to another Gulf Arab state, the United Arab Emirates, the official said.

(REUTERS)

India Will Buy 36 Rafale Jets in Fly-Away Condition From France, Says PM Modi

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar today said India's decision to buy 36 French-made Rafale fighter jets off the shelf would infuse "minimum oxygen" into the Air Force, battling with an ageing warplane fleet. Describing the deal as "great", Mr Parrikar said that the planes would be inducted into the Air Force within a span of two years, according to the Press Trust of India.

India announced on Friday that it will buy 36 ready-to-fly Rafale fighter jets.

"It's a great decision taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on better terms and conditions. Procuring 36 planes for two squadrons is an extremely positive decision which was needed," Mr Parrikar told PTI.

"Indian Air Force will get minimum oxygen (relief) it required with this deal... In fact we have not purchased any major new generation aircraft in (last) 17 years," the minister said.

On Friday, PM Modi announced at a press conference in Paris that he had "asked President (Francois Hollande) to provide 36 Rafale jets in fly-away condition." He said the terms and conditions of the contract have yet to be finalised and officials from both sides would work out the details.

Mr Parrikar said today that buying the planes in "fly away condition" did not mean that "we will get them tomorrow".

"It has to be designed as per India's need," he said, adding negotiations would be held over the pricing of the planes.

The original plan was for India to buy 18 off-the-shelf jets from France's Dassault Aviation, with 108 others being assembled in India by the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited or HAL in Bengaluru. Sources now say that if negotiations work out, India will buy 144 aircraft, 18 more than the original 126, ensuring that 108 jets will still be assembled at home.

For three years, the Rafale deal has been mired in extensive negotiations. Dassault has been reluctant to provide guarantees for the aircraft that are produced in India.

The Rafale was chosen in 2012 over rival offers from the United States, Europe and Russia. The original proposal for 126 fighter jets was worth at least 12 billion dollars.