Egypt navy to receive second German submarine in June 2017
Xinhua, December 13, 2016 Adjust font size:
Egyptian Navy Commander Ossama Rabie announced Egypt will receive a German-made submarine in June 2017, official news agency MENA reported on Tuesday.
The Type 209/1400 submarine will be the second of its kind to join the Egyptian Navy, Rabie was quoted by MENA on the sidelines of the handover of the first submarine in Kiel city.
The deal came in light of upgrading the Egyptian Navy and providing it with the latest military equipment in the world, he said.
"Defending the territorial waters and help fight terrorism, illegal immigration, arms trafficking and smuggling of goods need a large fleet capable of defending Egypt's interests and protecting its national security," Rabie reiterated.
Amid the ongoing turmoil in Middle East and growing conflicts in neighboring Syria, Iraq, Libya, Yemen and South Sudan, Egypt is seeking to develop its military capabilities and diversify its arming sources.
In October, Egypt received its second of two Mistral-class Landing Helicopter Doc (LHD) warships bought from France.
Egypt had already received six new Rafale warplanes and a FREMM multi-mission frigate from France as part of a 5.6-billion-dollar deal signed between Cairo and Paris in February 2015 including 24 Rafale fighter jets and the frigate. Endit