France begins training Ukrainian pilots on Rafale fighter jets
France has started training Ukrainian pilots to fly Rafale fighter jets under a roadmap agreed in July, French Minister Delegate for Europe Benjamin Haddad said. The first four Rafale jets are to be handed over once training is complete, with the rest expected in Ukrainian skies by 2028–2029.
Key points
- France has begun training Ukrainian pilots to fly Rafale fighter jets, Benjamin Haddad said in an interview with Le Parisien.
- The roadmap announced on 13 July covers Ukraine's acquisition of 16 Rafale jets and armaments for them.
- The first four Rafale jets are to be transferred immediately after pilots complete their training.
- Remaining Rafale jets are expected to appear in Ukrainian skies in 2028–2029.
- Training is staged: Grob G-120TP light aircraft, then Alpha Jet, then the Rafale.
- On 17 November 2025, Macron and Zelensky signed a letter of intent envisioning up to 100 Rafale jets over the next decade.
- No firm contract has been signed yet; cost and financing have not been determined.
Why it matters
The start of the Rafale training pipeline marks the first concrete movement on a new Western fourth-generation fighter platform for Ukraine. Combined with a long-term framework of up to 100 aircraft, it sets the shape of Ukraine's pilot capacity and air combat capability for years, even though key questions — the contract, cost, and financing — remain open.
What happened
France has begun training Ukrainian pilots to fly Rafale fighter jets, French Minister Delegate for Europe Benjamin Haddad announced in an interview with Le Parisien. The training follows a roadmap signed on 13 July under which Ukraine is to receive 16 Rafale jets along with armaments. Haddad said the jets will be flown by Ukrainian pilots, not French ones. The first four Rafale jets are to be transferred once pilots complete the course; the remainder are expected to reach Ukrainian skies in 2028–2029. Pilot instruction is staged, starting on Grob G-120TP light aircraft, then Alpha Jet trainers, before transition to the Rafale. The program builds on a letter of intent signed on 17 November 2025 by Emmanuel Macron and Volodymyr Zelensky envisioning up to 100 Rafale jets over a ten-year horizon.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
The Ukrainian-language sources frame the announcement as concrete progress: training is underway, 16 jets are agreed, and a longer-term path to up to 100 Rafale is in motion. They present Haddad as the authoritative French voice on the program and stress that the aircraft will be operated by Ukrainian pilots. Several also recall Zelensky's earlier observation that about half of Ukraine's F-16 fleet has been in Europe for repair, implicitly underlining the need for additional Western fighter capacity.
Where reporting differs
One source dates the Macron–Zelensky letter of intent on up to 100 Rafale jets to a specific horizon of 2035, while the other sources describe it only as a ten-year framework without naming 2035.
Background
The Rafale is a French fourth-generation multirole fighter developed by Dassault Aviation, in service with the French Air Force and Navy and operated by other countries. On 13 July, France and Ukraine announced a roadmap for Ukraine's acquisition of 16 Rafale jets and associated armaments. On 17 November 2025, Macron and Zelensky signed a letter of intent under which Ukraine could order up to 100 Rafale jets over the next decade. Benjamin Haddad, Minister Delegate for Europe at the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, has been the named French official publicly discussing the program.