Combat aircraft

NEW LIFE FOR EMIRATI FIGHTERS

F

INANCIAL PROBLEMS

WITHIN the UAE in

recent years have led

to a decision to put on

hold procurement of

Lockheed Martin F-35A

and Dassault Rafale F3R fighters to

replace the UAE Air Force and Air

Defence (UAEAF&AD)’s current fleet

of 75 F-16E/F Desert Falcons and

59 Mirage 2000-9s. As a cheaper

solution, the defense ministry has

decided to modernize its existing

fighter fleet and to look at new

ISR and light attack platforms as a

complementary solution.

The UAEAF&AD has operated the

Mirage 2000 since 1989. Between

2003 and 2007 it received 30 newly

manufactured Mirage 2000-9s and

upgraded 32 of its older Mirage

2000s to the same standard. Soon

after delivery of the final Mirage

2000-9, the defense ministry began

studies to find a replacement.

Several aircraft were selected as

candidates to succeed the Mirage

fleet between 2017 and 2020, but

the Rafale was seen as having the

best chance.

In June 2008 the office of

French President Nicolas Sarkozy

announced that the UAE had begun

negotiations to buy Rafales, with

expectations of contract signature

in early 2009. During April 2010, Abu

Dhabi reported that a consortium

of French aerospace companies

hoped to sell as many as 60 Rafales

to the UAE and was offering to

set up manufacturing facilities in

Abu Dhabi.

Negotiations for the procurement

of 60 Rafales, valued at US$60

billion, collapsed in 2011, but were

revived in 2015. Dassault Aviation

chairman and CEO Eric Trappier

said in March that year that the

company had returned to talks

with the UAE, but that these were

not contract negotiations. A month

later, UAE Crown Prince Mohammed

bin Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan

confirmed a French newspaper

report that the UAE was interested in

procuring Rafales.

In 2017, with talks between the

UAE and Dassault ongoing, the

company decided to bring the

Rafale to the Dubai Air Show. Three

Rafale Cs joined the static display

and another took part in the flying

program. The French Air Force’s

Escadron de Chasse 1/7 ‘Provence’

at Al Dhafra air base in the UAE

provided all the aircraft.

Finally, on November 14, the UAE

decided not to procure the Rafale

within the next decade and instead

to upgrade the existing fleet of

Mirage 2000-9s to keep them in

service until the early 2030s. The UAE

announced its intention to sign a

contract with Dassault and Thales to

update 42 out of its total 59 Mirage

2000s (44 Mirage 2000-9EADs, seven

Mirage 2000-9RADs, and eight

Mirage 2000-9DADs).

‘Viper’ upgrade

In January 2014, the US Defense

Security Co-operation Agency

announced that the UAE had

officially requested to buy up

to 30 F-16E/F Block 61 aircraft

equipped with equipment slightly

upgraded in comparison with

the Block 60 variant. The request

included 40 20mm M61A1 cannon,

40 embedded GPS/INS, new IFF

systems, night vision goggles,

joint mission planning systems,

new smart weapons integration,

F110-GE-132 International Engine

Management Program-Component

Improvement Program powerplants,

and other new equipment all valued

at US$2 billion.

Later in 2015 the UAE began

negotiations with Rosoboronexport

and Russia’s United Aircraft

Corporation to study procurement

of the Su-35. As another option,

the UAE authorities began talks

with Lockheed Martin on the

possibility of obtaining F-35As as a

replacement for the F-16E/F fleet in

the 2020s.

Talks on a possible Su-35 or F-35

buy continued until November

2017. On November 4 it was
      announced that President Trump’s
      administration had agreed to
      consider the UAE’s request for the
      F-35. During the Dubai Airshow,
      Lockheed Martin and US Air Forces
      Central Command authorities
      announced that a sale of the
      Lightning II would be possible if
      the UAE finalized an agreement to
      prevent the sharing of sensitive data
      with third parties.
      Despite these ambitions, the
      F-35 remains unaffordable for
      now, and the UAE finally decided
      to sign a contract to modernize its
      existing fleet of F-16E/F Block 60s
      to Block 61 standard. This variant
      features most of the new systems
      and capabilities of the F-16V. Maj
      Gen Abdullah Al Sayed Al Hashemi,
      chief of the military committee
      and spokesman for the UAE Armed
      Forces, announced finalization of the
      US $1.63-billion contract on the first
      day of the airshow.
      Babak Taghvaee

The F-16E/F Desert Falcon may be

among the most advanced variants of

this jet, but will be further enhanced

under a $1.63-billion upgrade

program. Babak Taghvaee

In the continued absence

of a Rafale order, 42 of the

United Arab Emirates’ fleet

of Mirage 2000-9s are now

due to be upgraded.

Babak Taghvaee

http://www.combataircraft.net January 2018

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[SPECIAL REPORT] DUBAI

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