According to La Tribune, France wants to sell Rafale fighter aircraft to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. A source the newspaper talked to said that the two countries are interested in the deal. However, the Ministry of Defense of Kazakhstan denied this information.
Why does France want to sell its fighter aircraft? According to several people familiar with the matter La Tribune has cited, France wants to sell Rafale fighter aircraft by Dassault Aviation to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in order to deepen bilateral relations with these two countries.
«This was the main purpose of Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in early November. The quick trip of the French president followed similar moves by President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who visited France on November 21-22, 2022 and November 29-30, 2022, respectively, the newspaper wrote.
According to La Tribune’s sources, both countries have shown great interest in Rafale. For example, Uzbekistan can purchase 24 fighter aircraft to replace its outdated Russian aircraft with new-generation jets.
The deal with Kazakhstan is a “more distant perspective» as «geographical and even political proximity between Astana and Moscow doesn’t help to promote the idea of purchasing aircraft from a Western company,» the newspaper said.
«However, France decided to try its luck in both Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan as it wanted to support these countries in “their pursuit of reforming and modernization and make a contribution into diversification of their partnership relations, support their independence and sovereignty and their aspiration to strengthen their relations with Europe,» the Élysée Palace said in a statement before Macron visited Astana and Samarkand.
What did the Ministry of Defense say? According to the press service of the Ministry of Defense of Kazakhstan, the information spread by La Tribune «doesn’t reflect reality.»
With which countries is Kazakhstan cooperating in the defense field? In late July 2023, some media outlets reported that Kazakhstan wanted to purchase Turkish combat drones Anka after proper testing. Later, the Defense Ministry said that Kazakhstan has been acquiring Turkish drones Aseltan and Otoka. The ministry hasn’t responded to a question about the possible production of the Anka drones in Kazakhstan.
Also in July, Kazakhstani enterprise Zenit signed a contract with the Turkish defense company ASFAT and YDA Group that should facilitate the construction of warships for Kazakhstan’s navy. Previously, the country acquired combat ships from Russia, the U.S., South Korea and Germany.
