Egyptian Rafale Contract Enters into Force

Dassault Aviation announced Monday that the Rafale contract with Egypt “has entered into force.”

It could mean that production of 30 Rafale jets, contracted in May 2021 has begun following the completion of the previous contract to supply 24 jets. It also indicates that Egypt must have made a financial commitment to kickstart the contract without which Dassault would not fire up its production line to commence manufacturing the 30 aircraft.

On May 4, the Egyptian Defense Ministry said it signed an agreement with France for 30 Rafales. The contract, reportedly worth $4.5 billion, is financed through a financing loan of a minimum duration of 10 years. According to reports, the accord covers contracts for MBDA and Safran valued additional $240 million.

Cairo signed its first Rafale deal for $5.9 billion in February 2015. This contract was for 24 (8 single-seat, 16 two-seat) Rafales, Meteor and Scalp missiles, as well as a FREMM multipurpose frigate. This means, Egypt bought a weaponized Rafale for $245 million. The deal was financed up to 50% by a consortium of French banks.