These are still – albeit rather dense – rumors that first emerged in “Il Fatto Quotidiano” at Pentecost and have since been diligently discussed by the specialist press. According to these rumors – after three years of negotiations – the signing of a major contract for Italian armaments with Egypt is imminent.
“Il Fatto Quotidiano” quoted an Italian government official as saying that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is waiting for confirmation from Italian Prime Minister Mario Dargi to finalize the deal. The deal is expected to include 24 Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft and would be part of a wider agreement worth around ten to twelve billion euros, which would also include four FREMM frigates, 20 armed patrol boats, 20 M-346 training aircraft and a military observation satellite. Leonardo is part of the Eurofighter consortium with a 21 percent share, but supplies 60 percent of the Typhoon’s avionics, for example. The company has been in talks with Egypt for the sale for three years. An official confirmation would be the largest arms purchase in Egypt’s recent history and the biggest deal for the Italian defense industry since the Second World War. This is because the entire bidding process was led by Leonardo, which is also set to receive around 60 percent of the financial volume – provided the contract actually comes into force. Against this background, Banca Akros has estimated that a contract with these key figures could provide for an advance of around ten to 15 percent (280 to 420 million euros). However, international aerospace journalist colleagues are still expecting a possible intervention by France to bring its Rafále jets into play in Cairo.
Good for M-346 – and for Austria?
In Italy, the 28 Eurofighter T3s with the first version of the E-Scan radar are currently being built for Egypt. As far as the M-346 trainers – which have also been repeatedly discussed in Austria with regard to the re-nationalization of training and personnel replenishment as well as substitutes for the too few T1 Eurofighters (they would also be available with radar) – are concerned, continuity of production (currently for Qatar and Greece) would be welcome, until those eventually – after the AW-169 helicopters – could also end up in the “basket” of the G2G framework agreement concluded with Italy at the end of last year. The domestic air force is once again a participant at the upcoming RIAT in Fairford – also in the flight display – and it is quite possible that there will be background discussions on the subject there. Why this diversification?
Militär Aktuell has activated a contact in Egypt and asked why Cairo – Qatar also does this. Qatar also does this, but the country is in a much better financial position – so many different Western and Eastern fighter aircraft types and their logistics? In addition to the – when the ink is dry – new Eurofighter jets, this also includes Su-35s, which Egypt apparently does not want to let go of despite US-CAATSA sanction threats and the war in Ukraine. Some Egyptian representatives are therefore said to have recently been back in Komsomolsk and Krasnodar.
The reply was quick and very firm: “Our air force needs modern fighters. Our large fleet of F-16 Block 52s is pretty useless because we don’t have BVR missiles and we can’t use said fighters without US oversight/permission. Ironically, our old Mig-29M2s are our most valuable asset as we can use them without having to ask permission and the Russians sold us modern weaponry. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case as they can no longer sell weapons and nobody wants them. The Egyptian Air Force (EAF) wants to diversify its arsenal to ensure that it is not dependent on a single nation. We have overpriced but downgraded ‘junk jets’ from the US and we have fighters from Russia with no or questionable supply. But we have advanced Rafále jets and Mistral helicopter carriers from France, we have submarines from Germany and we have domestically built APCs. The deal with Italy is another step for Egypt to broaden its arsenal. Also, the Eurofighter is a really good jet, much better than our downgraded F-16s. The Eurofighter ensures that we are not outclassed by our enemies. To clarify, by enemies I don’t mean Israel, I mean Turkey, Iran and Libyan/Syrian/Palestinian/Sudanese terrorists. In addition, the EU and the East are selling their most modern weapons and ammunition, and all at a good price. Unlike the US, which doesn’t sell us modern missiles like the AMRAAM C7/9 – unless that’s the only reason we’re buying F-15s, but we’re not going to play that game.”
Click here for more news about Leonardo.
