Photo: MORH/ 11. HRVCON eFP (Creative Commons)
If France honors a pledge made on July 14 that Rafale fighter jets will be delivered to Ukraine in the near future, Kyiv’s air force will soon operate eight different models of fighter jet, designed in four different countries.
Paris announced on July 14 that the first four of 16 Dassault Rafale jets will be delivered to Ukraine as soon as the country’s pilots and maintenance crews are trained on the French aircraft. That training could begin “as early as 2026,” according to a joint statement from France and Ukraine.
French President Emmanuel Macron (right) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy walk near a Rafale jet at an air base near Paris in November 2025.
Following the collapse of the USSR, Ukraine’s air force inherited scores of Soviet-made fighters which still form the backbone of its combat fleet. But since Russia’s 2022 invasion, Western allies have supplied US-made F-16 fighters as well as a handful of French Mirage 2000 jets. Several Swedish Gripens are expected to be flown by Ukrainian pilots by early next year and deliveries of Rafales will follow after that.
Operating such a motley fleet of combat aircraft is largely avoided by militaries, “due to a comparative loss of economies in scale and a need to establish comprehensive training, support and sustainment arrangements for each type of jet,” Christoph Bergs, an air power analyst with the Royal United Services Institute, told RFE/RL.
Several NATO countries operate combat fleets made up of just one fighter jet model and even large air forces, such as those of Germany and France, currently fly only two fighter aircraft types.
A file photo of French Rafale fighter jets above Corsica in March 2011.
Bergs says the growing complexity of Ukraine’s combat aircraft fleet is likely to be a step in a long term goal of phasing out the country’s Soviet-designed aircraft. The upkeep of those legacy aircraft became increasingly difficult for Kyiv after supply chains for vital parts were cut off amid hostilities with Russia following its seizure of Crimea in 2014.
“Ukraine will be looking to substitute its legacy Soviet/Russian fleet completely with Western aircraft,” the air power expert predicts. “As such, the comparatively small number of Gripens and Rafales that will be phased in over the next few years will first cover a transitionary, likely accelerated period of training and tactical integration into squadrons,” he says.
A Rafale takes off from an air base in southwestern France in November 2022.
The Rafale jet first entered service with the French armed forces in 2001 and saw its first combat operations the following year when it took part in the US-led invasion of Afghanistan. The twin-engined aircraft was designed to fight other aircraft or strike targets on the ground in any weather, by day or night.
The jet has had success in the export market in part due to the fact it comes with fewer geopolitical strings attached than comparable fighters made by Russia, the US, or China.
French Rafale fighter jets at an air base near Abu Dhabi in December 2025.
Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and India currently operate large fleets of Rafales. Its name is variously translated as squall, gust of wind, or burst of fire.
The main criticism of the Rafale is its cost. Depending on the package, the price of a single aircraft can potentially rise as high as around $250 million. Operating costs are also substantial, with the Rafale estimated to cost between $16,000 and $31,000 per flight hour.
Ukraine plans to eventually acquire 100 of the French jets, with money for the purchase to be sought from a 90 billion euro ($102 billion) EU loan, “and through any other sources of financing,” Kyiv and Paris have said.
