Page 13 - ADT SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2021 Online Magazine

Full Throttle [ REPORT ]

EGYPT’S ACQUISITION OF THE RAFALES IS JUST the two sides signed the contract to buy the
ONE ELEMENT IN A WIDER MODERNISATION additional Rafale fighter jets as part of a deal
worth €5.4bn US$6.3 bn). The deal would be
PLAN financed through a 10-year loan. The additional
aircraft will also help Cairo replace the ageing
Jay Menon Mirage 5s, and probably the Mirage 2000s. The
acquisition of the Rafales is just one element in
a wider modernisation which has also seen the
The modernisation and expansion of the Egyptian Air Force is gath- procurement of 46 MiG-29M2s and 24 Su-35s.
ering steam and Cairo is in talks with the United States, European
nations and South Korea to acquire additional military equipment. The EAF has taken delivery of all its MiG-29M/
M2 fighter jets from Russia and has started
Egypt recently announced that it would place an order for a further receiving the first of two dozen Su-35 fighters,
batch of 30 Dassault Rafale multi-role fighters from France, to aug- Russia’s New Defence Order Strategy maga-
ment the 24 aircraft already in service. With a fleet of 54 Rafales, zine reported in June this year. According to
the EAF will become the second largest operator of the aircraft the Stockholm International Peace Research
type in the world, after the French air force itself. In May 2021, Institute’s (SIPRI’s) arms transfers database,
Egypt ordered 24 Su-35S fighters in 2018/19,
with delivery by 2023. They were first seen
flying in mid-2020, months after produc-
tion began at the Gagarin Aircraft Plant in
Komsomolsk-on-Amur.

The new jets will supplement the MiG-29M/M2
fighters Egypt has received and help replace
obsolete MiG-21s and J-7s. According to SIPRI,
Egypt ordered 50 MiG-29M/M2 aircraft in 2015,
with deliveries between 2017 and 2020. Egypt
also received 300 R-73 and 300 R-77 beyond
visual range air-to-air missiles for the MiG-
29M/M2 fighters. According to experts Egypt’s
latest plan to acquire more Rafale jets will open
prospects for other arms deals with France.
Reports note that Egypt has signed a contract
with France to buy an observation satellite and

ASIAN DEFENCE TECHNOLOGY September / Octobert 2021 | 13