UAE Withdraws From Financing Rafale F5 Due to Restricted Access to Technology

France will assume full responsibility for financing the development of the upgraded Rafale F5 fighter jet after negotiations on joint financing with the United Arab Emirates broke down.

This was reported by La Tribune.

Negotiations ceased in December 2025 when Paris offered Abu Dhabi the opportunity to join the program in exchange for investment, but without the participation of local companies or access to technology.

Overall, the UAE was expected to contribute up to €3.5 billion to the program, which is estimated to cost approximately €5 billion.

As a result, all financial obligations will fall on the French Ministry of Armed Forces, which could lead to delays in implementation.

Earlier, Militarnyi reported that in January 2025, the French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation unveiled the first Rafale fighter jet for the United Arab Emirates Air Force.

In total, the UAE Ministry of Defence has placed an order for 80 aircraft, which will replace the Mirage 2000-9 fighters manufactured by the same company in the country’s air force.

This is the largest order of Rafale aircraft for a single country among all export customers. This volume has made the country an attractive potential buyer of additional services, including the F5 modernization standard.

Meanwhile, delivery of the first batch of Rafale fighters is expected by the end of 2026.

Rafale F5

The F5 standard is to feature a Thales RBE2 XG radar based on gallium nitride, an upgraded SPECTRA electronic warfare suite, new optoelectronic sensors, conformal fuel tanks, and a Safran M88 T-REX engine, which is expected to provide a 20% increase in afterburner thrust.

In addition, the modernization included the integration of the UCAS escort drone. However, according to Dassault CEO Eric Trappier, it has not yet been officially launched. Against this backdrop, the loss of potential UAE funding further complicates the search for financing for the entire project package.

Furthermore, even with its current fleet and the upgrade of aircraft to the F3 and F4 standards, France faces serious funding challenges.

By the end of 2022, due to budget constraints, only 20% of French Rafale aircraft were equipped with RBE2 AESA radars.

To modernize its air fleet and increase this figure to 50%, the country sold Rafales to Croatia and continued deliveries of fourth and fifth tranches.

Starting with the fourth tranche, all Rafale aircraft are equipped with RBE2 AESA radars. However, in 2023, General Stéphane Mille noted that at that time, the new radars were in use on only 25 aircraft, and by 2030, the fleet of aircraft equipped with them is expected to grow to 75 units.