Highlights
- France set to make delivery of the first batch of twin-engine and multirole Dassault Rafale fighter aircraft to the military-backed government in Egypt
- Cairo ordered the military aircraft worth 5.6 billion dollars from France
- Egypt is allegedly seeking to upgrade its military edge in the face of threats posed from Libya and ISIL-affiliated Takfiri militants from the Velayat Sinai terrorist group
OSINT Report
Egypt recently has been faced by terror threats from her neighboring country Libya and also from the ISIL terrorist group.
Libya is a rival faction and is a potential threat fighting to win the huge share of the oil’s revenues. ISIL Takfiri militants are wreaking havoc in Egypt’s violence plagued Sinai Peninsula.
These threats prompted Egypt government to order the war planes from France.
Egyptian government took charge of three planes, the first batch of 24 military aircraft bought under the deal, at an air base in southern France, they will be flown to Egypt’s capital by specially trained pilots on Tuesday.
Rafale Warplane Military Capability
The Rafale aircrafts were developed for the French Air Force and Navy is a 9.5 – 10.5 tonne aircraft powered by 2 SNECMA M88 jet engines, each generating up to 16,500 pounds thrust with afterburner.
Rafale is a twin-jet combat aircraft capable of carrying out a wide range of short and long-range missions, including ground and sea attacks, reconnaissance, high-accuracy strikes and nuclear strike deterrence.
Rafale fighter weapons; Rafale can carry payloads of more than 9t on 14 hard-points for the air force version, with 13 for the naval version. The range of weapons includes: Sidewinder, Magic, Mica, AMRAAM and ASRAAM , air-to-air missiles; Apache, HARM, AS30L, ALARM, Maverick and PGM100 air-to-ground missiles and Exocet or AM39, Penguin 3 and Harpoon anti-ship missiles.
Summary
The warplane is getting a lot of attention. The military deal between France and Egypt also includes contracts for missiles and for an FREMM multi-mission frigate, which will reportedly have anti-aircraft warfare, anti-ballistic missiles and surface attack capabilities.
India is also interested in acquiring Rafale. In February 2012, the Indian Ministry of Defence also selected Rafale for the Indian Air Force’s MMRCA (medium multirole combat aircraft) programme, a contract worth approximately $20bn.
Brazil and the UAE are also expected to acquire the Rafale warplanes.
They’re way up ahead as these French fighters are reported to be the best in dealing with insurgency. We desperately need a good number of these beauties if we can cough, cough up $80-120 mils on each! Yes we can…too!