Qatar has agreed to buy 24 Dassault Aviation-built Rafale fighter jets in a ¤6.3bn ($7bn) deal, the French government said yesterday. The contract also includes MBDA missiles, and the training of 36 Qatari pilots and 100 technicians by the French army, a French Defence Ministry official said. “The president spoke to H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar, who confirmed his desire to buy 24 Rafale combat planes,” President Francois Hollande’s office said. Eleven planes will be delivered each year from mid-2018. Dassault Chief Executive Eric Trappier told BFM TV that Qatar had an option to buy 12 more planes. Hollande will travel to Doha on May 4 to sign the contract.