France to start training Ukrainian pilots on Rafale warplanes in November, minister says

PARIS — France will begin training Ukrainian pilots on the Rafale fighter jet next month, Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin said in a parliamentary hearing on Thursday.

“We are continuing our discussions regarding the combat aviation component, particularly regarding the Rafale,” Vautrin told French lawmakers in response to questions about aid to Ukraine during a 2027 defense-budget hearing here. “From November, we will begin the first training of Ukrainian pilots on Rafale.”

Ukrainian pilots will soon begin training on Rafale aircraft in France, a major step forward for Ukraine’s combat aviation, the country’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a Telegram post on Monday, citing a conversation with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron.

Ukraine in July agreed on a roadmap with France that included a plan to buy 16 Rafale fighter jets together with the accompanying weapon systems. The country has previously received F-16 jets from several European countries, Mirage 2000 fighters from France, and in May agreed to buy 20 new Gripen jets , with Sweden donating 16 units of an older model.

The first Rafale jets are expected to fly in Ukrainian skies in 2028 or 2029, Macron said in July.

Both countries are continuing to work on localizing production of French missiles and aerial bombs in Ukraine, Zelenskyy said on Monday. Vautrin said in her hearing that a licensing process is currently underway for missiles.

French Minister of the Armed Forces Catherine Vautrin arrives at the Élysée Palace prior to the arrival of Pope Leo XIV in Paris on Sept. 25, 2026. (Tom Nicholson/Getty Images)

“We are fully aware that by supporting Ukraine, we are defending Europe,” Vautrin said.

As part of the July agreement, Ukraine would also acquire an initial batch of SAMP/T NG air-defense batteries with missiles, Macron said at the time. The countries further approved licensing agreements for production in Ukraine of the AASM glide-bomb kit, the Aster 30 air-defense interceptor that arms the SAMP/T, as well as the SCALP/Storm Shadow air-launched cruise missile.

Ukraine has already operated an older version of the French-Italian SAMP/T air-defense system, which relies on the Aster family of interceptors manufactured by MBDA. The country also uses the AASM Hammer precision glide-bomb developed by Safran.

Ukraine in November last year signed a letter of intent to buy up to 100 of Rafale jets manufactured by Dassault Aviation, after a similar letter of intent a month earlier between Ukraine and Sweden for the export of up to 150 Gripen jets , produced by Saab.

The Rafale integrates MBDA’s Meteor, considered by analysts to be one of the best long-range air-to-air missiles in service with Western militaries. The aircraft also features a high-end electronic warfare suite and a radar from Thales, both of which were upgraded as part of the Rafale’s F4.1 standard, qualified in March 2023 .

Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.

巴黎——法国武装部队部长凯瑟琳·沃特兰周四在议会听证会上表示，法国将于下个月开始对乌克兰飞行员进行“阵风”战斗机的培训。

“我们正在继续就作战航空部分进行讨论，特别是关于阵风战斗机的问题，”沃特兰在2027年国防预算听证会上回答法国议员关于援助乌克兰的问题时表示。“从11月开始，我们将开始对乌克兰飞行员进行阵风战斗机的首次培训。”

乌克兰总统泽连斯基周一在 Telegram 上发帖称，乌克兰飞行员很快将在法国开始接受“阵风”战斗机的训练，这对乌克兰的战斗航空来说是一个重大进步。泽连斯基在帖子中援引了他与法国总统马克龙的谈话内容。

乌克兰7月与法国达成一项路线图协议，其中包括购买16架“阵风”战斗机及配套武器系统的计划。此前，乌克兰已从多个欧洲国家接收了F-16战斗机，从法国接收了“幻影2000”战斗机，并于5月同意购买20架新型“鹰狮”战斗机，瑞典则捐赠了16架旧型号的“鹰狮”战斗机。

马克龙在7月份表示，首批阵风战斗机预计将于2028年或2029年在乌克兰上空飞行。

泽连斯基周一表示，两国正继续努力在乌克兰实现法国导弹和航空炸弹的本地化生产。沃特林在听证会上表示，导弹的许可审批程序目前正在进行中。

2026年9月25日，法国武装部队部长凯瑟琳·沃特兰在教皇利奥十四世抵达巴黎前抵达爱丽舍宫。（汤姆·尼科尔森/盖蒂图片社）

“我们完全清楚，支持乌克兰就是在捍卫欧洲，”沃特林说。

马克龙当时表示，作为7月份协议的一部分，乌克兰还将获得首批配备导弹的SAMP/T NG防空导弹系统。两国还批准了在乌克兰生产AASM滑翔炸弹套件、SAMP/T系统配套的Aster 30防空拦截导弹以及SCALP/Storm Shadow空射巡航导弹的许可协议。

乌克兰此前已装备过较早版本的法意联合研制的SAMP/T防空系统，该系统采用MBDA公司生产的“紫菀”（Aster）系列拦截弹。此外，乌克兰还使用赛峰集团研制的AASM“铁锤”（Hammer）精确滑翔炸弹。

去年 11 月，乌克兰签署了一份意向书，拟购买达索航空公司生产的至多 100 架阵风战斗机。此前一个月，乌克兰和瑞典也签署了一份类似的意向书，拟出口萨博公司生产的至多 150 架鹰狮战斗机。

阵风战斗机集成了MBDA公司的“流星”导弹，分析人士认为它是西方军队现役最好的远程空空导弹之一。该机还配备了高端电子战系统和泰雷兹公司的雷达，这两项设备均已升级为阵风F4.1标准，并于2023年3月通过认证。

鲁迪·鲁伊滕贝格是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者。他的职业生涯始于彭博新闻社，拥有报道科技、大宗商品市场和政治方面的经验。