Second contract of Egypt to buy French fighter jets; Military leap or political motives?
The second contract of the French Rafale fighters raises questions about Egypt’s military motives and the need for these weapons, and what will this contract add to the country’s large arsenal of Russian and American fighters? Is it necessary to conclude this contract due to the barriers to financing and taking heavy loans?
Egypt has signed a contract with France to buy 30 Rafale fighter jets in a deal that investigative website Disclose said was worth $4.5bn. Egypt’s defense ministry revealed the deal in a statement early on Tuesday.
President Emmanuel Macron said in December he would not make the weapon sale to Egypt conditional on a commitment to respect human rights because he did not want to weaken Cairo’s ability to counter violence in the region.
Al Jazeera – The Egyptian army last Tuesday announced the signing of a contract and the purchase of 30 French Rafale fighters with a loan of at least 10 years.
In addition to having an advanced weapons system, high maneuverability, French fighters have several weapons systems with excellent training power and weapons systems with high combat capability and long-range missions.
While the Egyptian military statement did not specify the value of the deal, the research website Disclose revealed that the amount amounts to 3.75 billion euros and includes equipment worth 200 million euros.
The new fighters are scheduled to be delivered in 2024 and 2026, and the number of Rafale fighters carrying the Egyptian flag will increase to 54 after a similar contract in 2015, which included 24 fighters, making Egypt the second-largest Rafale fleet center in the world after France. Give.
French Defense Minister Florence Parley said Egypt’s deal to buy 30 Rafale fighter jets from France’s Dassault provided 7,000 job opportunities for three years.
But the military goals of the deal have been criticized in recent years, given Egypt’s vast arsenal, with large arms deals with countries such as France, the United States, Russia, Germany, and Italy, despite loans that have boosted Egypt’s critical economy.
Many also believe that the agreement will affect national security interests and strengthen the ability of the armed forces in the critical situation in the region, especially the crisis of the Ethiopian Ennahda Dam, and warn of an armed conflict as the second flooding of the dam reservoir approaches.
Retired Maj. Gen. Adel al-Amda, an adviser to the Nasser Military University Center, also said the deal is a new strike force and a professional message that Egypt is free to choose whatever it deems appropriate to support its national security.
