France's first Rafale F4 fighter jet for UAE moves to initial flight testing after official presentation
On January 29, 2025, Éric Trappier, CEO of Dassault Aviation, officially unveiled the first Rafale F4 fighter aircraft produced for the United Arab Emirates Air Force (UAE AF) in the presence of French Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu and UAE Minister of State for Defense Affairs Mohamed Bin Moubarak Fadhel Al Mazrouei. The aircraft will remain at Dassault Aviation’s Flight Test Center for scheduled evaluations before its delivery to the UAE AF & AD, planned to begin at the end of 2026. This aircraft is the first produced under the €17 billion contract signed in December 2021 for 80 Rafale F4s. Read full defense news at this link... The F4 standard includes improvements in data processing, artificial intelligence-assisted sensor fusion, and an upgraded helmet-mounted display. Furthermore, the Rafale’s communications systems have been enhanced for network-centric operations, and provisions have been made for the integration of future weapon systems. (Pictu...