French President Emmanuel Macron stated that Saudi Arabia and France have expressed a desire to ink a deal for Dassault Rafale fighter jets.
Macron made the statement during his visit to Riyadh, Defense Arabia reports.
While the Gulf country is close to joining the multi-national GCAP next-generation fighter programme, it appears an interim solution is sought with the difficulties regarding the F-35's acquirement and Germany's objections to exporting the Eurofighter Typhoon.
Rafale's current customers include France, Greece, Egypt, Qatar, India, Indonesia, UAE, Croatia, and Serbia.
The current model of Rafale, F4, includes features such as AESA radar, targeting pods, and the capability to use Meteor BVRAAM. France plans to introduce MUM-T with the upcoming F5 standard, which allows fighters to control unmanned combat aircraft.
In addition to new fighters, Saudi Arabia is also seeking new UCAV types. Recent acquirements in that regard include the Turkish AKINCI UCAV acquisition and the Chinese jet-powered WL-10B UCAV, a counterpart to the U.S.-made MQ-20 Avenger.
