Le Rafale has been on the rise in recent months, and according to Dassault Aviation's operational staff, commercial activity has never been so intense in many years. Besides the order of 18 Rafale Greeks signed a few weeks ago, Paris is actively negotiating with Jakarta and Baghdad, two countries which wish to materialize their orders for the French plane within the deadlines presented as short. But other countries are also in negotiations with the Team Rafale, especially in the Middle East. Thus, the United Arab Emirates want to replace their fleet of Mirage 2000-9 by the French aircraft, which would operate alongside the F35A ordered from the United States. Abu Dabi thus wishes to preserve the double sourcing of its main defense equipment, as was the case with its current fleet made up of French Mirage 2000 and American F16s.
Until recently, relations between Cairo and Paris were so deteriorated that there was no longer any question for the Egyptian air forces of acquiring new Rafale. But France's firm positions in the Libyan crisis and the Eastern Mediterranean crisis in 2020 helped restore the French image with President Al-Sissi. And according to the American site Breaking Defense, Cairo is reportedly negotiating today with France the “doubling” of its fleet of Rafale, to acquire 12 to 30 new French fighters. At the same time, the Egyptian air forces have already undertaken to upgrade their current fleet to the F3R standard, making it possible in particular to deploy the long-range Meteor air-to-air missile. A contract that has gone unnoticed but which obviously represents a most encouraging sign for the future of the aircraft and the French defense industry in this country.
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