Agapanthe 2010 : Big Fox exercise with the UAE Air Force

UAE officials on the CdG during Big Fox 2011 exercise

After the Varuna exercise with  the Indian Navy, the CdG and its air wing have sailed to the Oman gulf for "Big Fox", a four day training (jan 23-26th) with the UAE Navy and Air Force.

During the exercise, the Emirate F-16E and Mirage 2000-9 as well as French Air Force Rafale from the Al Dafra air base performed several strikes on the french carrier group defended by Rafale M F3. Conversely, the UAE Air Force also carried out interdiction missions to protect the Emirate air space against  French Navy fighters attacks. A total of 158 flights were performed during the event which involved 3 of the most potent multirole fighters.

No doubt that this 2011 issue of Big Fox was an important occasion for the UAE Air Force officers to have a closer look at the combat efficiency of the latest Rafale block.

Concerning the possible sell of the Rafale to the UAE, it is worth noting that the Emirate demand to get more flight slots in the French air space have been agreed by the French government, allowing the discussions on the Rafale to resume. Who knows, mays be we can expect an happy conclusion to this story in June at Le Bourget 2011 ?

Sources :
http://www.defense.gouv.fr/
http://gulfnews.com/