Egypt receives 3rd batch of Rafale jets from France

Egypt received three more Rafale fighter jets from France as the third batch of a deal signed in February 2015, said the Egyptian Defense Ministry in a statement on Wednesday.

The statement showed a video of the three French-made warplanes flying over the sky of Cairo in celebration of joining the Egyptian armed forces that now have nine Rafale jets.

According to the agreement, France is to provide Egypt with 24 Rafale warplanes and a FREMM multi-mission frigate. Egypt already received the FREMM frigate in June 2015, three Rafale jets as the first batch in July 2015 and another three as the second batch in January 2016.

The deal is seen by military experts as a real development in the capabilities of the Egyptian armed forces and a massive addition to their air fleet.

Egypt seeks to upgrade its military forces amid the ongoing turmoil in Middle East region and growing conflicts in fellow Arab states including Syria, Iraq, Libya, Yemen and South Sudan.

Signed between Egypt and France in mid-February 2015, the deal is worth 5.6 billion U.S. dollars.

Later in October 2015, the two countries signed another contract to buy two French Mistral warships, whose sale to Russia was cancelled by France over the Ukrainian crisis. The two French-made warships had already been delivered to Egypt.

Egypt is also scheduled to receive an advanced submarine, Type 209/1400, from Germany in June 2017 to be the second of its type to join the Egyptian naval forces after the country got the first in mid-December 2016. Endit