Ukraine will buy around 100 French fighter jets

Ukraine will purchase "up to 100" French-made Rafale fighter jets as well as anti-air defenses and drones from France, the Elysee Palace confirmed, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Paris on Monday.

"We will have the greatest air defense system, one of the greatest in the world," the Ukrainian president told reporters after signing the letter of intent with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Villacoublay Air Force Base southwest of Paris on Monday morning, reports CNN.

At a news conference, Zelensky told reporters that the deal would include eight air defense systems and six launchers in what he described as an "historic agreement."

Macron said that some of the deliveries of drones, interceptor drones and guided bombs, would come in the "very short term" with manufacturing commitments made for the coming three years. The Elysee Palace said that the purchases covered by the letter of intent would span the next 10 years.

Macron said that Ukraine will receive a "new generation" of the SAMP/T missile interceptor - largely comparable to the US-made Patriot system - which will be available in 2026.  Questioned over the financing of the deal, Zelensky said Ukraine was examining the possible co-production of the French-made jets.

This was Zelensky's ninth visit to Paris since the 2022 Russian invasion, as France has become a central pillar of Western support for Ukraine, particularly given the unpredictability of US weapons supplies.

In a powerful show of Franco-Ukrainian military cooperation, the leaders inked the agreement in front of a Rafale jet loaded up with guided AASM bombs and beside a SCALP cruise missile that Paris has already supplied to Kyiv.  The two leaders were flanked by a SAMP/T missile interceptor system and a GF300 radar system that France has also sent to Ukraine.

The Rafale is a multi-role fourth generation fighter jet, similar in role to the American F-16.

, capable of carrying out long-range bombing and dogfighting tasks in the same mission, according to the French military.

France has previously provided Kyiv with Mirage jets, which form the backbone of France's aerial bomber force.

France has seen broad success exporting the Rafale, including to India.

>>Agency