ABU DHABI, Dec 18 (AFP) – The delivery of the first four of 32 French Mirage 2000-9 aircraft ordered by the United Arab Emirates will take place in April, Dassault Aviation said.
Dassault delegate Pierre Pacalon told AFP Tuesday night that the “deliveries will be by group of four every two or three months.”
The French aircraft manufacturer will also upgrade 30 Mirage 200-5 warplanes already in service with the UAE airforce modernise to bring them up to the capabilities of the 2000-9 in a deal worth a total of six billion euros (dollars).
When the contract was unveiled in November 1998 the value was given as 3.2 billion dollars.
The UAE has three squadrons of a total of 80 fighters, including 12 Mirage
In March 2000, Abu Dhabi signed a contract worth a total 6.4 billion dollars for 80 of the latest F-16 Falcon fighters, known as Block 16, built by Lockheed Martin Corp.
The Dassault announcement came during a visit by French Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie who held talks with President Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan and Defence Minister Mohammad bin Rashed al-Maktoum.
France is a leading military supplier to the oil-rich Gulf state and negotiations are underway to sell Abu Dhabi six French patrol boats worth some 600 million euros and for French firms to modernise two Dutch-built frigates in the UAE navy for around 300 million euros.
http://hosting.afp.com/clients/aircosmos/francais/aviation/021218062104…
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December 18, 2002 at 9:56 am