Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and French President Emmanuel Macron signed a major defence agreement at Vélizy-Villacoublay Air Base near Paris on 17 November 2025 under which Ukraine will acquire 100 Dassault Rafale fighters over the next 10 years.
The deal also includes eight MBDA SAMP/T air defence systems, each with six launch units, and hundreds of Safran Armement Air-Sol Modulaire (AASM) Hammer stand-off, precision-guided bombs, which have a range that can exceed 70 km and are already used by the Ukrainian Air Force, as well as air-to-air missiles.
“Today marks a significant moment, truly historic for both our nations: France and Ukraine,” Zelenskyy stated on his X social media account. “Together with Emmanuel Macron, we signed a Declaration of Intent on Cooperation in the Acquisition of Defense Equipment for Ukraine. This document enables Ukraine to procure military equipment from France’s defence-industrial and technological base, including 100 Rafale F4 aircraft by 2035 for Ukraine’s combat aviation, SAMP/T air-defence systems, air-defence radars, air-to-air missiles and aerial bombs. Joint projects between our defence sectors will also begin this year; we will co-produce interceptor drones and work on developing critical technologies and components that can be integrated into Ukrainian drones.
“New aircraft, new reinforcements, new steps to strengthen our army and our country. I am deeply grateful to France, President Emmanuel Macron and all the French people,” Zelenskyy added.
The news that Ukraine will acquire 100 Rafales of the latest operational F4 standard is significant, coming as it does after the Swedish government outlined plans in October 2025 to export at least 100 Gripen fighters to Ukraine in support of its struggle with invading Russian forces. Signing a letter of intent with Zelenskyy in Linköping, southern Sweden, on 22 October 2025, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson stated, “Today we have signed an important Letter of Intent, marking a step towards a massive possible export deal regarding Gripen – likely between 100 and 150 fighter jets – to build a new and very strong Ukrainian Air Force.”
These European fighter fleets will exceed the numbers of second-hand F-16AM/BM fighters that have been pledged/sent to Ukraine from the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Belgium, which total around 85.
Ukraine has lost three of these F-16s in combat.
