French President Emmanuel Macron claimed that the first of the French-made aircraft could be supplied to Ukraine as early as 2028.

During the “Coalition of the Willing” summit in Paris on Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed that plans are moving forward for Ukraine to receive its first Dassault Rafale omnirole jet fighters. Kyiv has called for more advanced fighter aircraft, and that included the French-made Rafale, with Ukraine committed to purchasing 100 of the 4.5-generation fighters.

Prior to this week, it was expected that the first Dassault aircraft would only arrive sometime in 2029 or 2030. However, on Monday, Macron said that the wait might be nearly as long.

“The first aircraft should be flying in Ukrainian skies in 2028–2029. There will also be additional radars and additional missiles,” the French president told reporters.

Macron added that Kyiv would be granted licenses to produce the advanced Aster-30 surface-to-air missile (SAM), which was developed to intercept a wide spectrum of aerial threats, including supersonic aircraft, drones, cruise missiles, and tactical ballistic missiles. France has already approved Ukrainian local production of the AASM guided bombs and SCALP cruise missiles.

“All of this will strengthen Ukraine’s capabilities and its position on the battlefield,” suggested Macron.

France Has a Long History of Support for Ukraine

Kyiv and Paris had reached a deal for the 100 Dassault fighters in November 2025, with it being financed via the European Union’s Ukraine Support Loan program, which has sought to ensure that the besieged nation is able to maintain its war effort against Russia.

It has been nearly four and a half years since Moscow ordered its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, claiming its “special military operation” was to “de-Nazify” and disarm a potentially hostile regime on its border. Much of Europe, along with the United States, Canada and other nations, quickly came to Ukraine’s aid.

However, under the second Trump administration, support for Kyiv has diminished with Washington dismantling much of the assistance framework. Europe, however, has risen to the occasion, filling the void left by shifts in US policy.

About the Dassault Rafale

• Year Introduced: 2001
• Number Built: 300+ (production ongoing for export customers)
• Length: 50 ft 2 in (15.3 m)
• Wingspan: 35 ft 9 in (10.9 m)
• Weight (MTOW): ~54,000 lb (24,500 kg)
• Engines: Two Safran (formerly Snecma) M88-2 turbofans (17,000 lbf each with afterburner)
• Top Speed: Mach 1.8 (approx. 1,190 mph / 1,915 km/h at altitude)
• Range: ~1,000 nmi (1,850 km) combat radius; ~2,000 nmi (3,700 km) ferry range with drop tanks
• Service Ceiling: ~50,000 ft (15,240 m)
• Loadout: 14 hardpoints (13 on Rafale M naval variant); 9,500 kg (20,900 lb) total payload capacity
• Aircrew: 1 (Rafale C and M); 2 (Rafale B twin-seat variant)

The Dassault Rafale—literally meaning “gust of wind” or “burst of fire” in a military sense—was conceived for use by the French Air Force and Navy as an omnirole fighter, intended to replace seven different types of French combat aircraft in operation at the time of its development. The plane traces its origins back to the Avion de Combat Experimental (ACX) program in the early 1980s. France withdrew from the multinational European Fighter Aircraft (EFA) project in 1985, which went on to separately develop the Eurofighter Typhoon.

The Dassault Rafale entered service in 2001. Since then, it has undergone steady upgrades and improvements, resulting in its F4 configuration, which has been described as a “4.5-generation” fighter. It can serve in several roles, including air defense/air superiority, anti-access/area denial, reconnaissance, close air support, dynamic targeting, air-to-ground precision strike/interdiction, anti-ship attacks, nuclear deterrence, and even buddy-buddy refueling.

Is France Rushing Rafales to Ukraine at Other Nations’ Expense?

Dassault delivered its 300th Rafale aircraft last year.

Exports of the Dassault Rafale began in 2015, when Egypt became the first foreign buyer of the French-made fighter. Current orders have come from India, Croatia, and Serbia, with Iraq now considering whether to adopt the Rafale.

That raises questions about whether Dassault has the bandwidth to supply 100 Rafales to Ukraine within a short period of time. It is unlikely that it does—but Paris may have opted to ensure that Ukraine’s order needed to be expedited to ensure it has the weapons needed to defend its borders, even if the current fight ends soon. One way or another, Ukraine is likely to operate the Rafale well into the future, providing a bulwark against Russian encroachment into Europe for years to come.

About the Author: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu has contributed to dozens of newspapers, magazines and websites over a 30-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a contributing writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.

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