Discussions between Paris and Cairo regarding a new aircraft order Rafale had been underway for several months, Egypt having expressed its wish to “ double its fleet Rafale »Last February. According to documents obtained by the Disclose information site, these negotiations would have been successful, and a contract of almost €4 billion for an order of 30 new planes Rafale would have been signed on April 26. After the formalization of the order of 18 Rafale by Greece 3 months ago, it is therefore excellent news and a new success for the French aircraft, with one of its largest and oldest customers, Cairo having been the first country to acquire the Rafale in 2015, but also the Mirage 2000 20 years earlier.
The French authorities, contacted by AFP, have not confirmed the information, but have not denied it either, adding that an announcement will soon be made in this area. The amount of the transaction is insured by a consortium of French banks including Crédit Agricole, BNP, Société Générale and CIC, for financing covering 85% of the contract amount. The contract schedule is not detailed, nor its overall envelope. Let us recall that Egypt had already wanted to acquire new Rafale in 2017, but the contract was vetoed by Donald Trump concerning a component used by the SCALP cruise missile which accompanied the order, while tensions between Cairo and Washington were at their highest.
This contract has come a long way. Indeed, a few months ago, relations between France and Egypt were very deteriorated, following a statement by the French president concerning human rights during an official visit to Cairo, provoking the anger of President Al Sisi. This episode had led to the suspension of a large part of the negotiations between France and Egypt on the subject of arms contracts, Cairo then quickly returned to Rome to acquire FREMM frigates. and begin discussions regarding the acquisition of fighters Typhoon. France's involvement in the Eastern Mediterranean in 2020 alongside Greece in the face of Turkish attacks, as well as in application of the embargo on deliveries of arms and materials to Libya, brought the French and Egyptian positions closer together, allowing the resumption of negotiations.
However, contact was not completely broken between French defense manufacturers and Egypt, since the country had quite discreetly ordered the modernization of its Rafale to bring them to the F3R standard, capable of notably implementing the long-range Meteor air-to-air missile and carrying the new generation TALIOS designation pod. However, it is not known whether the new Rafale Egyptians will be to this same standard, or if they will be delivered directly to the standard F4, which will allow the French aircraft to acquire 5th generation type capabilities, such as data fusion.
Egypt is investing in a forced march for the modernization of its armed forces. In particular, the country acquired 46 Mig-29s and 30 Su-35 from Russia in addition to the 24 Rafale previously ordered from France for its air forces, Gowind 2500 corvettes and FREMM frigates from France and Italy, as well as T-90 tanks near, again, near Russia. With this new order, the country will have a world-class air force, with 30 Su-35s, 44 Mig-29s, 54 Rafale, 220 F16s and 19 Mirage 2000s, or more than 350 combat aircraft, as many as France and Italy combined, with 8 E2C Hawkeye advanced air surveillance aircraft to control them.