Dassault Rafale and the Eurofighter Typhoon rejected
Having evaluated and rejected the
Dassault Rafale and the Eurofighter
Typhoon, and having been informed
that the existing order backlog alone
would keep the UAE from obtaining
the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter until
after 2020, a solution to the UAE Air
Force and Air Defence’s long-term
requirement for a ‘next-generation
fighter’ to replace the Mirage 200from post 2018 seems as far away as ever.
In the meantime, the UAE is
expanding its fleet of Lockheed Mar-
tin F-16E/F Desert Falcons through
the acquisition of 30 new Block 61
F-16E/F aircraft. The 79 surviving
Block 60 F-16E/F Desert Falcons will
be upgraded to a similar ‘Block 60+’
standard.SA Artillery