It is now official.
Egypt confirms this Tuesday that it is buying 30 additional Rafale from the French company Dassault, in an army statement published the night of Monday to Tuesday, the day after the revelations of the investigative media Disclose.
The press release specifies that the purchase will be made via a ten-year loan.
đź”´ [REVELATIONS] According to confidential documents obtained by @Disclose_ngo, France and Egypt have signed in the greatest secrecy a mega-contract of nearly 4 billion euros for the sale of 30 fighter jets and missiles.
https://t.co/zNFEFwOP87
- Disclose (@Disclose_ngo) May 3, 2021
A big customer of the French arms industry, Cairo was the first foreign country to buy Rafale (24), in 2015.
Export success
According to details unveiled by Disclose, France and Egypt on April 26 signed a contract worth a total of 3.95 billion euros, including the sale of 30 Rafale fighter jets as well as two other contracts for the benefit the MBDA missile and Safran Electronics - Defense.
An Egyptian delegation was to initial the agreement on Monday in Paris.
This sale will confirm the late but real export success of the French combat aircraft.
Ordered by Egypt, then Qatar (36) and India (36), it was sold in January to Greece in 18 copies, including 12 used.
And the next few months could be good, hopes Dassault Aviation: the Rafale is in competition in Switzerland, Finland and Croatia.
According to Disclose, which cites Egyptian government documents detailing the terms of the contract, Egypt has obtained a loan guaranteed by France up to 85% to finance these purchases, putting French taxpayers on a possible default.
