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FIGHTER JET

France hits jackpot with Qatar fighter jet deal

French group Dassault Aviation is poised to sign a multi-billion-euro deal with Qatar for 36 of its Rafale fighter jets, the presidency and sources said Thursday, the third foreign order this year.

Published: 30 April 2015 14:31 CEST
France hits jackpot with Qatar fighter jet deal
France has struck a deal with Qatar for 24 Rafale fighter jets. Photo: AFP

Having struggled for years to sell any of its Rafale jets abroad, Dassault has recently scored several lucrative, high-profile contracts with Egypt, India, and now Qatar.

The agreement, which will be signed on May 4 in Doha in the presence of French President Francois Hollande, includes a firm order for 24 jets with an option on 12 other planes, sources close to the negotiations told AFP earlier.

Earlier this year, Egypt bought 24 Rafales in a €5.2-billion($5.8-billion) deal negotiated in just three months, prompting hopes in Paris that the agreement would act as a catalyst to unblock hoped-for sales to other countries.

India then followed suit this month by announcing the order of 36 Rafale jets during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to France.

The two sides had already been engaged in years of tortuous, exclusive negotiations for the sale of 126 Rafales, but these had been bogged down over cost and New Delhi's insistence on assembling a portion of the high-tech planes in India.

So India, whose airforce is in dire need of new jets to update its ageing fleet, made a quick order for 36 planes while negotiations continue on finalising the initial 126-jet agreement.

Dassault is also involved in talks with the United Arab Emirates, and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has recently hinted that these are evolving "in the right direction."

The French presidency said Thursday the new deal with Qatar was a "great satisfaction."

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BRITAIN

Spanish fighter jets fire up Gibraltar strife

The tiny British-held territory of Gibraltar complained to London on Wednesday that four Spanish air force jets entered its territory without permission, the latest in a string of disputes over alleged Spanish incursions into its territory.

Published: 4 July 2013 08:49 CEST
Spanish fighter jets fire up Gibraltar strife
Tensions between Spain and the UK have been high since recent allegations that a Spanish police fired at a jet skier in the contested waters of Gibraltar. Photo: Jorge Guerrero/AFP

Four Spanish air force Matador jets entered Gibraltar's airspace from the northwest on Wednesday while apparently on their way to an aircraft carrier that was about 12 nautical miles southeast of the territory, the government of Gibraltar said in a statement.

"At no time did the aircraft make contact with Gibraltar's air-traffic control and the Spanish air traffic authorities in Seville gave no warning of the aircrafts' approach," it said.

Air traffic controllers in Seville delayed the departure from Gibraltar of a British Airways flight to London for 12 minutes until it was safe for it to take off, the statement added.

The government of Gibraltar has called on Britain "to take up the matter of this military incursion into the airspace of Gibraltar at the highest diplomatic and military levels."

Last week British Prime Minister David Cameron protested to his Spanish counterpart Mariano Rajoy at a meeting of European Union leaders in Brussels over allegations that Spanish police fired shots at a jet ski in the contested waters around Gibraltar.

"I think this is a totally unacceptable episode and I made that clear. I think it is very important that people on Gibraltar know that we support them, we support their sovereignty. We need to find out more about what happened but from what I have heard…it is not acceptable," he told a news conference at the EU leaders' meeting, according a statement from the government of Gibraltar.

Madrid has flatly denied accusations that Spanish military-linked Guardia Civil police fired shots while chasing a jet ski on June 23 in waters off Gibraltar and it has criticized Britain for giving credence to rumours.

A Spanish foreign office spokesman said an incident involving a jet ski did take place but that no shots were fired.

 In November, Spain and Britain summoned each other's ambassadors in a spat over a series of naval incidents around the small but strategically situated territory.

Britain has held Gibraltar since 1713 but Spain wants it returned and refuses to recognize British sovereignty over the waters off the land known as the Rock.

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