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Ukraine said on Monday that it signed an agreement to buy up to 100 Rafale F4s by 2035.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
It marks the French jet as the likely third aircraft for Kyiv’s future Westernized air force.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
The F-16, Gripen E, and Rafale F4 would be massive upgrades to Ukraine’s aging Soviet fleet.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
It’s official: The Rafale F4 is set to be the third pillar of Ukraine’s new fighter fleet.<\/p>\n
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Monday that Kyiv has signed a letter of intent to acquire up to 100 of the French fighter jets over the next 10 years.<\/p>\n
Under the new arrangement, Ukraine is also allowed to receive advanced French radars and eight French-Italian Surface-to-Air Missile Platform\/Terrain<\/a> air defense systems, each equipped with six launchers.<\/p>\n “This is a historic agreement. It is of great value that France is taking such a step toward achieving real, guaranteed security in Europe,” Zelenskyy said.<\/p>\n The agreement complements other commitments for his country to obtain the US-made F-16 and Sweden’s Gripen<\/a>, making the trio the likely backbone of its future air force.<\/p>\n The Ukrainian president said in August that his country was aiming for its next fighter fleet to be fully Western for “full NATO integration.” Kyiv’s air force now operates primarily older Soviet-designed fighters, supplemented by a limited number of Western airframes acquired since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in 2022.<\/p>\n Sweden, France, and the US were publicly earmarked as source countries for Ukraine’s new fighters, but the types of aircraft and their expected quantities were only revealed in recent weeks.<\/p>\n Kyiv also signed a letter of intent with Sweden on October 22 to buy up to 150 JAS 39 Gripen E<\/a> fighter jets.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Ukrainian pilots are already flying Lockheed Martin F\u201116 Fighting Falcons<\/a> donated by European NATO members, along with several French Dassault Mirage 2000<\/a> fighters. Both are upgraded fourth-generation aircraft, and Ukraine has said it eventually needs a total of 128 F-16s to defend itself against Russia.<\/p>\nEurope’s new fighters<\/h2>\n