Qatar to Buy Additional Rafales, 300 VBCI Combat Vehicles from France

Defense Industry: Visit of the President of the Republic to Qatar

(Source: French Armed Forces Ministry; issued Dec 07, 2017)

(Issued in French only; unofficial translation by Defense-Aerospace.com)

With their respective head of state looking on, Dassault Aviation CEO Eric Trappier and the Qatari Air Force commander sign an agreement firming up an option on 02 additional Rafales and an option for 36 more. (Twitter photo)

The Minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly welcomes the will expressed by Qatar, on the occasion of the visit by the President of the French Republic, to acquire additional Rafales. She also welcomes the signing of a letter of intent to acquire the VBCI armored vehicles, which had been named winners of a competition organized by Qatar.

At the end of November, Florence Parly invited her counterpart from Qatar to exchange details on these subjects, which have also been the subject of intense negotiations in recent weeks with Dassault Aviation and Nexter.

The Minister was also able to discuss other arms issues and to prepare a Letter of Intent for an agreement on the status of French forces in Qatar and Qatar in France. All these subjects were reviewed during a Dec. 6 telephone conversation, at the request of the Minister, to reach an agreement in time for the President’s visit.

Qatar's choice of French industry reflects both the quality of our cooperation and the technological excellence of our companies.

Exports are vital to our defense industry and the equipment of our armed forces. They contribute to the strategic autonomy and the influence of our country. Florence Parly remains fully committed alongside the President of the Republic to ensure the success of French exports in the field of armaments.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Qatar also said it could purchase a further 36 Rafales, Reuters reported from Doha. Qatar has committed to buying 490 VBCI armored vehicles, instead of the expected 300, and also said it would buy 50 Airbus A321neo airliners.)

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Qatar Acquires An Additional 12 Rafale

(Source: Dassault Aviation; issued Dec 07, 2017)

SAINT-CLOUD, France --- In the presence of the President of the French Republic, Mr. Emmanuel Macron, and his Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Qatar Armed Forces and Dassault Aviation signed an agreement on future cooperation and the exercise of an option for 12 Rafale.

This new order follows on from the contract signed on 4 May 2015 between the State of Qatar and Dassault Aviation for the acquisition of 24 Rafale, thus raising the number of Rafale aircraft operated by the Qatar Emiri Air Force to 36.

Dassault Aviation and its partners thank the Qatari Authorities for having given them the opportunity to enhance their collaboration by restating their confidence in the qualities of the Rafale and expressing their satisfaction with the performance of the main contract.

“This new agreement is built around the special relationship that exists between the two countries and the shared determination, by the Defense Ministry of Qatar and Dassault Aviation, to move forwards together”, declared Eric Trappier, Chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation.

With over 10,000 military and civil aircraft delivered in more than 90 countries over the last century, Dassault Aviation has built up expertise recognized worldwide in the design, development, sale and support of all types of aircraft, ranging from the Rafale fighter, to the high-end Falcon family of business jets and military drones. In 2016, Dassault Aviation reported revenues of €3.6 billion. The company has 12,000 employees.

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