July 19, 2026, 6:02 pm
French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy have formalized a landmark defense agreement at the Coalition of the Willing summit in Paris. Under the deal, financed through the European Union’s support loan program, Ukraine will acquire an initial tranche of 16 French-built Dassault Rafale multirole fighter aircraft, marking one of the most significant investments in the modernization of the Ukrainian Air Force.
A statement issued after the agreement, noted,
"Air-to-ground and air-to-air weapons, including AASM bombs, laser-guided anti-drone rockets, and MICA and METEOR missiles, will be delivered as the aircraft are deployed operationally. Each Rafale will be delivered with an agreed quantity of weapons determined during subsequent bilateral technical consultations."
Although the first Rafale fighters are not expected to enter Ukrainian service until 2028 or 2029, following the commencement of pilot training in 2026, the agreement represents a major long-term leap in the modernization and combat capability of the Ukrainian Air Force.
In this video, Defense Updates analyzes how Meteor armed French Rafale could change the air war in Ukraine ?
#defenseupdates #ukrainewar #ukrainerussiawar
Chapters:
0:00 TITLE
00:11 INTRODUCTION
01:27 SPONSORSHIP – NordVPN
02:01 DASSAULT RAFALE
04:07 METEOR
06:52 ANALYSIS
Sponsorship:
✴️ https://nordvpn.com/DEFENSE
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