Russian Electronic Equipment For Egyptian Mistral Carrier

Egypt has shown interest in procuring radio and electronic equipment from Russia for its Navy’s mistral class helicopter carrier.

Serious progress has been made in talks between Russia and Egypt on the preparation and delivery of radio and electronic equipment for the carriers purchased by Egypt after France refused to deliver the carriers to Moscow, a spokesman from Rostec’s United Instrument Manufacturing Corporation was quoted as saying by Sputnik Monday.

"Negotiations are continuing with Egypt on the delivery of radio-electronic equipment for the Mistral helicopter carriers. It’s already completely clear that the equipment stripped from the Mistral that was meant for the Russian Navy will not be delivered to Egypt…The possibility of preparing a different set of equipment especially for Egypt is currently under discussion," he said.

He said that it was premature to talk about the results of the negotiations, but said the Egyptian side "is showing great interest."

Russia and Egypt had set consultations on the purchase and management of a $1 billion worth communication system and Ka-52K helicopters for Mistral-type warships in November last year.

“They have expressed a desire to acquire Russian equipment, including helicopters,” Kremlin chief of staff Sergei Ivanov a high-ranking official in the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC) had said.

Egypt emerged as France’s replacement customer for the Mistrals in September, following the Paris and Moscow’s termination of a 2011 deal on construction and delivery of the two ships.

In November 2014, France had suspended the contract, citing Moscow's alleged participation in the Ukrainian conflict as a reason to terminate the deal.