PARIS, 05 February 2022, (TON): The French armed forces minister said “France will reinforce the United Arab Emirates' air defence system after a series of ballistic missile and drone attacks launched from Yemen by Iran-aligned Houthi rebels on the country.”

Paris has close economic and political ties with Abu Dhabi and has a permanent military base in the Emirati capital. It sealed a deal in December to sell some 80 Rafale fighter jets to the Emirates, the largest ever overseas sale of the French warplane.

"The United Arab Emirates was victim of serious attacks on its territory in January," Florence Parly wrote on Twitter. "In order to show our solidarity with this friendly country, France has decided to provide military support, in particular to protect the airspace against any intrusion."

The UAE has in the past fortnight been attacked twice with drones and missiles, claimed by the Houthis, including one targeting a base hosting the US military.

It was thwarted by US-built Patriot interceptors.

France's Armed Forces Ministry said the agreement with Abu Dhabi would see operations conducted from the Al Dhafra air base offering refuelling and surface-to-air capacities.