UAE pulls out of Rafale F5 programme, leaving France to fund it alone.

Negotiations between #Paris and Abu Dhabi collapsed over access to highly sensitive military technology, particularly optronics systems. The #UAE had offered up to €3.5 billion for a stake in the €5 billion programme, but demanded access to “black box” technologies and joint intellectual property.

France refused, choosing to protect full sovereign control over its most advanced systems.
Paris will now bear the entire cost of the #Rafale F5 programme alone, a major setback for defense cooperation and a clear signal that top-tier military tech remains off-limits, even for close partners.

An American pilot with 25 years of experience, a veteran of three wars and hundreds of combat sorties, spoke about Israeli military pilots. He published a post that quickly went viral:
“I’ve flown over Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya. I thought I had seen everything. But when I saw what the Israeli Air Force is doing in Iran, I realized I’m still a student.
Precision. Logistics.
200 aircraft in one night.
500 targets.
1,500 kilometers.
No aerial refueling from American bases.
All the fuel from home.
All the weapons from home.

It’s like flying from Miami to New York, bombing targets along the way, and returning—
while 200 aircraft move simultaneously without a single collision.

To the Israeli pilots:
You are not just the best in the Middle East.
You are the best in the world.
And that’s the final word.”