France licenses SCALP, Aster-30, and AASM missile production to Ukraine and confirms delivery of 16 Rafale jets by 2028
Macron and Zelensky signed a Joint Declaration in Paris granting Ukraine rights to produce three French weapons systems domestically, the first time France has licensed capabilities to Kyiv rather than transferring stock, alongside a confirmed order for 16 Dassault Rafale fighters
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Summary
France and Ukraine signed a Joint Declaration in Paris on July 13 granting Kyiv licensed production rights for three French weapons systems: the SCALP long-range cruise missile, the Aster-30 air-defence interceptor, and the AASM precision guided bomb. It is the first time France has licensed weapons production capabilities to Ukraine rather than supplying finished stock. French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also confirmed Ukraine will receive a first batch of 16 Dassault Rafale fighter jets by 2028-2029, alongside SAMP/T NG ballistic missile defence systems. The announcement came at the end of a 우크라이나와 유럽 9개국, 7월 13일 파리에서 탄도미사일 방어 연합 출범, 공동 유럽 미사일 방패 구축 약속 Coalition of the Willing summit in Paris, with German Chancellor Merz and UK Prime Minister Starmer also present. The production licences allow Ukraine to manufacture these weapons domestically, reducing dependence on transferred stock and adding an indigenous production dimension to Kyiv's war economy.
The split
Ukrainian outlets, Kyiv Independent, UNITED24 Media, and Pravda UK, foregrounded the historic nature of the licence transfer and the fighter jet delivery timeline. European defence trade press, FlightGlobal and Defense News, treated the story as a procurement milestone. Meduza, the Russian-language independent outlet in exile, reported factually without celebratory framing. Coverage in Russian state-controlled media was not available in the crawl feed. The deal's geopolitical meaning, its impact on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, was more explicit in Ukrainian coverage and largely absent from trade-press accounts.
By the numbers
- 16, Rafale fighter jets confirmed for Ukraine, first batch, 2028-2029 delivery
- 3, weapons systems licensed for domestic production in Ukraine: SCALP, Aster-30, AASM
- 1st time, France has licensed weapons production capabilities to Ukraine (vs. stock transfer)
- Jul 13, date of the Macron-Zelensky Joint Declaration in Paris
Why it matters
The licence transfer is strategically distinct from weapons deliveries. Ukraine can now manufacture SCALP cruise missiles, the primary long-range strike weapon it has used against Russian logistics and air defence, domestically. That closes a dependency loop: Ukraine will no longer need France to keep replenishing stock as it is depleted in combat. The Rafales, arriving from 2028, give Ukraine a fourth-generation multirole jet, its first from a NATO founding member. Combined, the package marks a French shift toward deep integration with Ukraine's military-industrial base, not just equipment supply.
What to watch
- Russia's formal diplomatic and military response to the licence transfer, particularly any new targeting of Ukrainian industrial sites.
- Whether other Coalition of the Willing members, notably the UK and Germany, follow France with their own production licence agreements.
- The SAMP/T NG delivery schedule, which underpins Ukraine's ability to defend the new production facilities from ballistic missile strikes.
- Whether Dassault's 2028 delivery commitment holds given ongoing supply-chain constraints in European defence.