The Egyptian Air Force has entered into a new agreement to acquire 30 Rafale fighters with Dassault. Thanks to the new order, the country will have 54 French aircraft, or more than double the original order.
Egypt had become Rafale’s first foreign customer in 2015 when it signed a contract for 24 fighters. When it receives the new aircraft, the African country will be the second largest supersonic jet operator in the world, behind France.
“This new order is proof of the unfailing bond that unites Egypt, the first foreign user of the Rafale, as it was for the Mirage 2000, with Dassault Aviation for nearly 50 years,” said Eric Trappier, CEO of Dassault Aviation.
Approach to Russia
The Egyptian Air Force is a traditional Dassault customer and has a significant number of upgraded Mirage 5 fighters in addition to 15 Mirage 2000.
Interestingly, the Arab country also has a large fleet of US F-16 fighters, but an alleged discredit by the US government has brought Egypt back from Russia.
Not long ago, the Air Force acquired 44 MiG-29M fighters and since last year has started receiving the Su-35s from an order for 24 aircraft signed in 2019.
