Saudi Arabia in talks with France to purchase Rafale fighter jets

Saudi Arabia is discussing with France the possibility of purchasing Rafale multi-role fighters for the kingdom's air force, which currently uses the US F-15 and European Eurofighter Typhoon.

The purchase of Rafale fighters manufactured by Dassault Aviation was discussed at a meeting between the Saudi defence minister and the French Armed Forces Minister, who is on an official visit to Riyadh, TASS reports per two sources.

According to one of the sources, Saudi Arabia is considering buying up to 200 aircraft - depending on the terms of a potential agreement to be determined by the manufacturer.

"In the long term, the kingdom could purchase between 100 and 200 Rafale fighters, which is roughly comparable to the number of F-15s and Eurofighter Typhoon currently in service with the army's air force," the source said.

At the same time, the agency interlocutor noted that the negotiations between Saudi Arabia and France are at the initial stage, so at present the parties have not reached "even preliminary agreements”.

According to another source, Saudi Arabia, which considered buying Rafale fighter jets in 2006 but opted for F-15s, is now seeking to diversify its sources of arms imports.

“The kingdom's authorities are gradually reviewing their approach to interaction with arms importers so as not to become dependent on any one country," the source emphasised.

According to him, Saudi Arabia's interest in Rafale fighter jets is due, among other things, to tensions between Riyadh and Washington, and also indicates that the kingdom would like to limit the US presence in the Middle East.

At the same time, the agency's interlocutor noted that despite negotiations on the purchase of French fighter jets, Saudi Arabia is still interested in the F-35, the American multirole fighter of the fifth generation, to which the Rafale does not belong.

Both sources also said that the talks between the Saudi defence minister and the French Armed Forces minister discussed the possibility of Riyadh joining the development of the sixth-generation FCAS / SCAF (Future Combat Air System) aircraft complex.

The key technological component of the complex is the sixth generation fighter (NGF). In addition to it, the FCAS includes the latest aircraft engine, a promising aerial weapons system, the latest "loyal wingman" drones, advanced sensors and stealth technology, as well as a cloud-based data storage and transmission network.