France Forced to Fund Rafale F5 Alone After UAE Pulls Out
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, PARIS – France will ultimately have to fund the Rafale F5 fighter jet programme alone after the United Arab Emirates (UAE) decided to withdraw from participation. The dispute centres on access to sensitive technology, particularly in the field of optronics, which Paris refused to share.
Initially, Abu Dhabi was prepared to contribute up to €3.5 billion, or approximately Rp68.6 trillion, to the programme, which is estimated to cost a total of $5 billion, or about Rp98 trillion. The failure of negotiations now leaves France to bear the full cost, with anticipated delays in development and delivery.
Quoted from La Tribune on Friday (3/2/2026), after several months of stalemate in financing the Rafale F5, President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Abu Dhabi in December 2025 was intended to clarify what the two countries expected from each other. This was because both nations had agreed on the programme’s development, which incorporates the latest cutting-edge technology.
One particularly appealing point for the UAE was their strong interest in the new technology. In the end, Macron had to listen to a lengthy complaint from Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, who was angry over France’s proposal on the matter.
The meeting between the two heads of state went very poorly, as France and the UAE clearly disagreed. To finance the Rafale F5, the Emiratis wanted to be involved as closely as possible in the jet’s development. The French side, on the other hand, was not prepared to share these development secrets, particularly in the field of optronics.
As reported by Defence24, from a broader strategic perspective, the decision carries significant implications. France, which has a military base in the UAE, has long treated Abu Dhabi as its main partner on the Arabian Peninsula.
France is also one of the UAE’s main arms suppliers, having sold, among other things, 80 Rafale fighter jets in a deal worth $16 billion, or approximately Rp313.8 trillion. Those funds were also for the purchase of corvette ships, missiles, and advanced defence systems.