Additional Rafales for Egypt

On 3 May 2021, the Egypt Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed that a contract for thirty Dassault Rafale fighter aicraft was signed with France.

According to the information, the deal, reported to be valued at USD 4.5 billion, would be financed through a loan to be re-paid over at least 10 years. However, Egypt did not disclose the value of the deal or further details on the split between single-seat and dual-seat fighters.

The Al Quwwat Al Jawwiya Il Misriya (EAF, Egypt Air Force) operates the Rafale EM and Rafale DM with the 203rd Tactical Fighter Wing (203 TFW) at Gebel el Basur air base. The TFW consist of two squadrons, the 34th TFS Wild Wolves and the 36th TFS Lions. In February 2015, Egypt signed a contract for the delivery of 24 Rafales, consisting of eight single-seat (EM) and sixteen dual-seat (DM) aircraft. One Rafale EM was lost in April 2019.

Photo by Swingwing (Scramble Archive)