UAE agrees to buy French warplanes as Macron visits Gulf

NICE, France (AP) — France announced the signing Friday of a 16 billion-euro ($18 billion) armaments mega-contract for the sale of 80 of its Rafale warplanes to the United Arab Emirates.

The French Defense Ministry said the deal was France’s largest-ever weapons contract for export. It came as French President Emmanuel Macron is in the Emirates on the first stop of a two-day visit to the Persian Gulf. There was no immediate confirmation of the deal from Emirati officials.

Manufacturer Dassault Aviation said the UAE is buying the upgraded F4 version of its multi-role combat aircraft. That will make the Emirates Air Force the first user outside of France of the Rafale F4, it said.

The deal offers a shot in the arm for France's defense industry after the collapse of a $66 billion contract for Australia to buy 12 French submarines.

Dassault Aviation boss Eric Trappier called the sale “a French success story" and “excellent news for France and for its aeronautical industry.”

Macron’s keen interest in forging personal relationships with leaders like Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, and his counterpart in Saudi Arabia, Mohamed bin Salman Al Saud, makes him a welcome guest in the region. Both Gulf leaders value a degree of pragmatism when discussing democracy and human rights — issues on which their countries have been heavy criticized by rights groups and European lawmakers — while pursuing business opportunities.

France has deep ties to the United Arab Emirates, a federation of seven sheikdoms on the Arabian Peninsula, particularly since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The UAE opened a French naval base in 2009 at Abu Dhabi’s Port Zayed. French warplanes and personnel are also stationed at Al-Dhafra Air Base, a major facility outside the Emirati...