Ukraine agrees on plan to acquire 16 Rafale jets, France’s Macron says

PARIS — Ukraine has agreed on a plan to acquire 16 Rafale fighter jets from France together with the accompanying weapon systems, French President Emmanuel Macron said at a press conference here late Monday following a meeting of the group of countries that have pledged support to Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Macron agreed on a roadmap between their two countries that also includes the acquisition of a first batch of SAMP/T NG air-defense batteries, complementing systems and their missiles to be delivered in coming weeks, Macron said. France will also provide radar systems and additional missiles, the president said.

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 system as well as the SCALP/Storm Shadow air-launched cruise missile, Macron said.

Ukraine has suffered a shortage of interceptors to defeat ballistic threats, leaving the country with a gap in its air defenses as Russia has stepped up ballistic-missile attacks. United States President Donald Trump said earlier this month Ukraine would be allowed to manufacture its own interceptors for the Patriot air-defense system, though setting up local production could take years .

“Ukraine has immediate needs, particularly in the anti-ballistic area,” Macron said. He said the bilateral agreement is part of that, in addition to an initiative by Zelenskyy to create a coalition “that will accelerate Ukraine’s anti-ballistic defense in a very concrete way.”

Nine countries including France, the United Kingdom, Germany and Norway joined Ukraine in a coalition that will develop an anti-ballistic air-defense system, according to a joint statement . The system, called Freyja, will be centered on an interceptor from Ukrainian defense firm Fire Point.

Ukraine is also seeking to strengthen its air force and compensate for the loss of Soviet-era aircraft, agreeing in May to buy 20 new Gripen fighter jets , and with Sweden planning to donate 16 older models next year. The country has previously received F-16 fighter jets, which are being used primarily in an air defense role to shoot down Russian cruise missiles and Shahed attack drones.

The first Rafale jets are expected to fly in Ukrainian skies as early as 2028 or 2029, and training of Ukrainian pilots will start in coming months, Macron said.

Ukraine in November signed a letter of intent to buy up to 100 Rafale jets manufactured by Dassault Aviation. That followed a similar letter of intent in October between Ukraine and Sweden for the export of up to 150 Gripen jets , produced by Saab.

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——法国总统马克龙周一晚间在巴黎举行的新闻发布会上表示，乌克兰已同意从法国购买16架“阵风”战斗机及配套武器系统。此前，承诺支持乌克兰的国家集团举行了会议。

马克龙表示，乌克兰总统泽连斯基和法国总统马克龙就两国关系路线图达成一致，其中包括采购首批SAMP/T NG防空系统，以及配套系统和导弹，这些装备将在未来几周内交付。泽连斯基总统还表示，法国还将提供雷达系统和额外的导弹。

马克龙表示，两国还批准了在乌克兰生产 AASM 滑翔炸弹套件、为 SAMP/T 系统配备的 Aster 30 防空拦截器以及 SCALP/Storm Shadow 空射巡航导弹的许可协议。

乌克兰一直缺乏拦截弹道导弹的拦截器，导致其防空系统出现漏洞，而俄罗斯却加大了弹道导弹袭击力度。美国总统唐纳德·特朗普本月早些时候表示，将允许乌克兰自行生产用于“爱国者”防空系统的拦截器，但建立本地生产线可能需要数年时间。

马克龙表示：“乌克兰有迫切的需求，尤其是在反弹道导弹领域。” 他说，这项双边协议正是满足这些需求的一部分，此外，泽连斯基还提出了建立联盟的倡议，“这将以非常具体的方式加快乌克兰的反弹道导弹防御”。

据一份联合声明称，包括法国、英国、德国和挪威在内的九个国家与乌克兰组成联盟，共同研发反弹道导弹防空系统。该系统名为“弗雷娅”（Freyja），其核心部件是乌克兰国防公司“火点”（Fire Point）生产的拦截导弹。

乌克兰也在寻求加强空军力量，以弥补苏联时代飞机的损失。今年5月，乌克兰同意购买20架新型“鹰狮”战斗机，瑞典也计划明年向其捐赠16架老式“鹰狮”战斗机。此前，乌克兰已接收了F-16战斗机，这些战机主要用于防空，拦截俄罗斯巡航导弹和“沙赫德”攻击无人机。

马克龙表示，首批阵风战斗机预计最早将于 2028 年或 2029 年在乌克兰上空飞行，乌克兰飞行员的培训将在未来几个月内开始。

乌克兰于11月签署了一份意向书，拟购买至多100架由达索航空公司生产的“阵风”战斗机。此前，乌克兰和瑞典于10月签署了一份类似的意向书，拟出口至多150架由萨博公司生产的“鹰狮”战斗机。

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。