The Minister for the Armed Forces, Florence Parly, announced it by three tweets Friday morning : “Rafale fighter jets, which belong to our permanent force based in Abu Dhabi, are engaged alongside the UAE armed forces in surveillance, detection and interception missions.” The request was made by the United Arab Emirates days after the January 17 attack, according to the ministry. Drones, fired by Yemeni Houthi rebels, blew up tanker trucks in the federation’s capital, killing a Pakistani national and two Indians.
In retaliation, the coalition led by Saudi Arabia and in which the Emirates participate, had harshly bombarded Houthi positions in Yemen, causing several dozen victims. However, the attacks by the Yemeni rebels have not ceased. According to local authorities, two ballistic missiles were intercepted on January 24, and another on the night of January 29 to 30, when the Israeli president was on an official visit to the country for the first time.
Daily flights
As of January 24, French Rafales began their protection mission for the benefit of the United Arab Emirates. France has a permanent naval base, an air base and an army regiment there. About 650 soldiers are deployed there. They are being reinforced by a detachment of around fifty pilots and mechanics, according to Colonel Pascal Ianni, spokesman for the General Staff of the Armed Forces.
In addition to air assets, France is supplying its ally with new-generation Crotale ground-to-air defense systems. A French liaison officer is also inserted in the Emirati command post. Rafale flights are scheduled to be daily and must be limited to the airspace of the Emirates, adds the staff.
deadly war
The two States concluded a defense agreement in 1995, reinforced in 2009, making the Emirates the main partner and point of support of France in the region. This alliance has not been called into question by the deadly war that the Emirates have been waging in Yemen since 2015 within the coalition. It was even reinforced at the end of last year by the record purchase of 80 Rafales by the extremely wealthy petro-monarchy, which had become the leading customer of the French arms industry.
With this support, France is taking a new step in its involvement in the conflict in Yemen. Already singled out for its supplies of arms to the belligerents, irregular with regard to its international commitments, it becomes an actor, defensively but without any debate having taken place in Parliament.