UAE commander confirms Rafale deal is a non starter

The sensational news that the deal had collapsed had broken during the International Chiefs of Staff conference held in Dubai on Saturday. But during the Dubai Airshow earlier this week, French manufacturer Dassault insisted that talks were ongoing and that there could be resolution.

But during a visit to the Dubai Airshow yesterday Sheikh Mohammed said "Thanks to French President Sarkozy, France could not have done more diplomatically or politically to secure the Rafale deal. Bilateral relations have never been stronger and his constant personal intervention in this process has sustained Dassault at the forefront of our considerations.

"Regrettably Dassault seems unaware that all the diplomatic and political will in the world cannot overcome uncompetitive and unworkable commercial terms," he said.

The UAE is understood to have contacted Eurofighter and Boeing for information on the Typhoon, the F-15 and the F18 aircraft.