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Ukraine deal for 100 Dassault Rafale Omnirole Jets
Under a deal signed on Nov. 17, 2025 Ukraine will receive up to 100 French-made Rafale warplanes over the next 10 years both countries said, as Kyiv seeks to bolster its defences against Russia’s invasion.
In the letter of intent signed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in front of one of the jets and both their flags are also included air defence systems, munitions and drones.
Zelenskiy told reporters at the event at France’s Villacoublay military airport that “It will be the greatest air defence, one of the greatest in the world.”
Dassault Aviation, the company that builds the Rafale omnirole fighter jet, said in a press release appeared on its website;
‘Dassault Aviation would like to thank the Ukrainian and French authorities for the declaration of intent to acquire the Rafale fighter jet, which they have just signed, and for the confidence they have placed in the operational capabilities of this aircraft.’
The Elysee said that the letter of intent was a political commitment, rather than a purchase deal, which would come later. According to Reuters, the aim was to finance it with EU programmes and the planned use of frozen Russian assets, which the EU still has to agree.
Gripen E deal
According to the Elysee the agreement covers new material rather than transfers from French stocks.
“We’re planning Rafales, 100 Rafales – that’s huge. That’s what’s needed for the regeneration of the Ukrainian military,” Macron explained LCI TV.
He added that the goal is not only to help Ukraine in the short term with drones, drone interceptors and other gear but also in the longer term to allow it to fight off any new incursion once there is a peace deal.
Both side confirmed that the deal includes the acquisition of the new generation of the SAMP/T air-defence batteries, which is currently being developed, and AASM Hammer air-to-surface munitions.
As already reported, Sweden and Ukraine are in talks for financing for a major deal that could include Kyiv buying up to 150 Gripen E fighter jets. Stockholm could fund part of the deal via military aid.
However, since Ukraine wants to receive aircraft in 2026 and given that Gripen E production requires three years from contract signing, to address this gap, Sweden has not ruled out the possibility of delivering earlier-model Gripen C or D variants as an interim solution while the more advanced Echo models are manufactured.
Omnirole capabilities
The Rafale, with its “Omnirole” capabilities (which can be illustrated by the ability to conduct several different missions in the course of the same sortie), is the right answer to the capability approach selected by an increasing number of governments.
It fully complies with the requirement to carry out the widest range of roles with the smallest number of aircraft.
Thanks to its versatility, its adaptability and its ability to meet all air mission requirements, including for high intensity warfare, the Rafale is the “poster child” transformational fighter which provides a way forward to air forces confronted to the requirement of doing “more” with “less”, in an ever-changing strategic and economic environment.
Compact, yet extremely powerful, superbly agile and very discrete, the latest type of combat aircraft from Dassault Aviation does not only integrate the largest and most modern range of sensors, it also multiplies their efficiency with the particularly performing “multi-sensor data fusion”.
Photo credit: A. Pecchi / Dassault Aviation
