Islamistas del parlamento de Kuwait han advertido al gobierno contra la compra del caza francés Rafale, por considerarla "sospechosa", sin especificar nada mas. Algunos miembros de la oposición consideran el contrato sobre inflado y han declarado que ningún país ha adquirido en firme este caza. La pasada semana, el ministro de defensa de Kuwait, calificó al Rafale de prioritario. En noviembre el parlamento aprobó una auditoría independiente sobre la compra de material militar a Estados Unidos y Francia, que incluye aviones Hercules, municiones y Rafale.
En Octubre de 2009, Kuwait y Francia firmaron un tratado de defensa y se dió luz verde a la venta de Rafale, hablándose de entre 14 y 28 Rafale.
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An Islamist parliamentary bloc in Kuwait has warned the government against the planned purchase of French-made Rafale warplanes, saying the deal was "suspicious."
The written statement, released March 21, did not say why the deal was deemed suspicious, and there has been no official word that Kuwait was reconsidering the purchase. In November, some opposition MPs claimed the proposed contract was over-inflated. A technical defense ministry team has been assessing the deal, but its findings have not been publicized. The political grouping comprises four Islamist MPs who have been campaigning against several proposed arms deals, especially the deal for up to 28 Rafale combat aircraft. The statement also said no country in the world had bought Rafales so far. Many countries have expressed interest in the multi-role combat fighter, but no deal has been finalized. Last week, Defense Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak al-Sabah said the Rafale deal remained a priority for Kuwait. In November, Kuwait's parliament voted unanimously to ask the independent accounting watchdog Audit Bureau to probe three planned arms deals with the United States and France that one lawmaker said were worth billions of dollars.
The deals include the planned purchase of an unspecified number of U.S.-made Hercules transport aircraft, an ammunition factory and the Rafale fighters.
In October, Kuwait and France signed a new defense agreement and discussed details of the Rafale deal. Sheikh Jaber said after talks in Paris that Kuwait would be "proud" to have the supersonic Rafale jet for its armed forces at some point in the future. He said he had given the Rafale a green light and passed the matter to technical teams for detailed scrutiny. During a Gulf tour in February 2008, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said discussions had begun with Kuwait to sell between 14 and 28 Rafales, which are made by France's Dassault Aviation.
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