PARIS, DUBAI: France will reinforce the UAE’s air defense system after a series of ballistic missile and drone attacks launched from Yemen by Iran-aligned Houthi rebels on the country, the French armed forces minister said on Friday.
Paris has close economic and political ties with Abu Dhabi and has a permanent military base in the Emirati capital.
It sealed a deal in December to sell some 80 Rafale fighter jets to the Emirates, the largest ever overseas sale of the French warplane.
“The United Arab Emirates was victim of serious attacks on its territory in January,” Florence Parly wrote on Twitter.
“In order to show our solidarity with this friendly country, France has decided to provide military support, in particular to protect the airspace against any intrusion.”
The UAE has in the past fortnight been attacked twice with drones and missiles, claimed by the Houthis, including one targeting a base hosting the US military. It was thwarted by US-built Patriot interceptors.
France’s Armed Forces Ministry said the agreement with Abu Dhabi would see operations conducted from Al-Dhafra airbase offering refueling and surface-to-air capacities.
“Aircraft operations are planned ... in coordination with the Emirati air forces, to detect and intercept drone strikes or cruise missiles targeting the UAE,” the ministry said.
Refueling and regular Rafale fighter jet observation missions would take place solely over Emirati territory, French officials said.
Des avions de combat Rafale, qui appartiennent à notre dispositif permanent basé à Abou Dabi, sont ainsi engagés aux côtés des forces armées émiriennes dans des missions de surveillance, de détection et d’interception en cas de besoin. pic.twitter.com/Zvy61yTr4M
— Florence Parly (@florence_parly) February 4, 2022
Earlier this week, the US had also said it would send fighter jets to assist the UAE following missile attacks on the Gulf state launched by Yemen’s Houthi movement.
The UAE-trained Giants Brigades in Yemen has this year inflicted heavy losses on the Houthi rebels, disrupting their efforts to seize a key city that could determine the outcome of the war.
According to Yemeni military sources, more than 30,000 fighters — most of them former army personnel — joined its ranks to repel a Houthi advance in the country.
The brigades possess tanks, heavy artillery and other weapons.
Made up of 15 brigades, the Giants’ military efforts focused on a 300-km coastal strip in the country’s west from Bab Al-Mandab to Hodeidah on the Red Sea.
Ahmed Nagi of the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center said the Giants Brigades is considered one of the most “disciplined” forces of the coalition.
“It’s good relationship with the coalition leadership ... has given it the ability to succeed in many military operations,” he said. Their entry into the Marib battle is “a new pressure tool used by the coalition.”
“Whether these forces continue their military operations ... in Marib or not, their capacity and equipment will remain a deterrent factor against the Houthis and will impose new rules of engagement on them,” said Nagi.
