NEWS 2022 March, 6

French Navy 'Charles de Gaulle' aircraft carrier reinforces NATO's activities in Eastern Europe

According to a Marine Nationale (French Navy) statement 'Charles de Gaulle  CSG set sail again yesterday after a few days of port call in Cyprus. Clemenceau22 continues, but the mission evolves to adapt to the current geopolitical situation. (...). The detection capabilities of the E2-C Hawkeye will notably enable the carrier strike group to assess the surface situation at the Europe maritime borders, especially in the Black Sea. Deployed yesterday in CJTFOIR to fight against Daech, engaged today for the benefit of the reassurance of our NATO partners on the eastern flank of Europe, the carrier strike group continues to operate for the protection of France and the European continent.'

The 'Charles de Gaulle' will contribute 3 Combat Air Patrols (CAP) of two Rafale M each, per day. This translates into a nearly permanent (24 hours) presence. In addition, a daily E-2C Hawkeye flight is planned from the carrier, as well as occasion patrols by the two ATL2 Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) currently based in Cyprus. The Rafale M will be refueled by NATO tankers present in the area. The patrol zones are the skies above Romania, Bulgaria and the Black Sea, sailing in the Mediterranean sea.
navalnews

Dassault plans to increase Rafale production to meet export sales success

Production of Rafale fighters will increase to three per month by the middle of the decade on the back of export sales success from a planned two-per-month rate.

In 2021, Dassault booked orders for 49 examples of the Rafale: 31 for Egypt, 12 for France and six for Greece. .However, those figures do not include blockbuster orders from the United Arab Emirates (80) and Indonesia (42), which were respectively signed in December 2021 and February this year. Greece is also likely to commit to another six aircraft, and France is expected to commit to at least another 42 in 2023, under its fifth order tranche for delivery from 2027.

However, the sharp ramp-up will not take place in 2022, when Dassault will ship just 13 Rafales, down from 25 in 2021, all of which will again go to export customers, Egypt and India.

Deliveries of the Rafale to France have been paused for several years due to some budgetary choices and are only likely to resume from 2023 or beyond.

Last year Croatia also joined the Rafale operator community, signing for 12 secondhand examples from France.

flightglobal

Air Force One replacement facing additional delays

While the Air Force and Boeing have yet to finalize a new schedule for the presidential aircraft replacement program, it now appears that the first new Air Force One plane will be delivered to the service even later than previously expected.

Boeing now expects that it will deliver the first VC-25B a total of 17 months later than originally scheduled.

That timeline has not been accepted by the Air Force and could change as the service negotiates with Boeing on a new schedule baseline. But Boeing’s new projection, which has been conveyed to stakeholders outside of the company, represents a growth from the 12-month delay presented by the company last year.

Boeing has pointed to the COVID-19 pandemic and the bankruptcy of its now-defunct subcontractor GDC Technics as the major causes of the delay. GDC Technics was under contract to build the interiors of the VC-25B, but Boeing cancelled the contract and sued GDC,.

Any cost increases associated with the delay would be borne by Boeing, due to the fixed-price nature of its $3.9 billion contract with the Air Force. That contract covers the engineering, manufacturing and development work associated with turning baseline Boeing 747s into a presidential aircraft furnished with highly-classified defensive systems, hardened electronics and secure communications gear.

breakingdefense 

US approves upgrade of Egypt's Apaches to AH-64E

The US State Department has approved a possible Foreign Military Sale of a refurbishment package for 43 Boeing AH-64E Apache attack helicopters owned by Egypt.
The estimated $2.3 billion deal is not final, but was announced via a required notification by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency to the US Congress on 7 May.
Egypt intends to use these refurbished AH-64 helicopters to modernise its armed forces to address the shared US-Egyptian interest in countering terrorist activities emanating from the Sinai Peninsula, which threaten Egyptian and Israeli security and undermine regional stability,” says the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.
Over the last couple of decades, the USA has helped Egypt put down a Bedouin insurgency, which has used attacks on civilians and kidnappings of tourists to further its cause.
The deal would also come with weapons: Hellfire missile launchers, 2.75in tube rocket launchers, and M230 chain guns.
flightglobal

Egypt reportedly orders AW149 helicopters instead of NH90

Egypt is believed to have ordered AW149 helicopters to use aboard its naval vessels, choosing the Leonardo Helicopters product over the competing NH90.
According to France’s La Tribune, Egypt informed France last week that it had chosen the AW149, with the order believed to cover around 20 helicopters. Leonardo has neither confirmed nor denied the contract.
France was hoping to sell the NH90 to Egypt after a string of sales that has included 24 Rafale fighter jets, two Mistral class landing helicopter docks (LHDs) and four Gowind class corvettes since 2014.
Egypt was looking at acquiring 20-30 NH90 for use aboard its naval vessels but it will also fly the AW149 on land-based troop transport and search and rescue missions.
defenceweb

Egypt takes delivery of Second Batch of Rafale fighters

Egypt has taken delivery of three Rafale fighters from France, the second batch of fighter jets under a contact last signed last year.
The three fighters were delivered in Cairo on Thursday.
Egypt now has a total of six Rafales. The first batch of three aircraft was delivered in July.
Under the deal with France, Egypt ordered 24 Rafales and a FREMM frigate for its Navy. The frigate from DCNS is already operational.
upi.com

Egyptian navy buys 46 Ka-52K attack helicopters

Egypt is to acquire 46 navalised Kamov Ka-52K attack helicopters to equip its new French-built Mistral-class amphibious assault ships.
No delivery timeframe has been released, however, although Egypt is likely to receive the two helicopter carriers by mid-year.
The naval variant of the Ka-52 features folding coaxial rotors and stub-wings.
flightglobal

United States Delivers Four F-16 to Egypt

On October 29, US Ambassador in Cairo joined Egyptian military officials in a ceremony at the Cairo West Air Force Base to receive four F-16 delivered by the United States to the Egyptian Air Force. Welcoming the four U.S. Air Force pilots who made the 14 hour flight from the United States to Egypt.
The F-16 Block 52 were delivered under the “Peace Vector” program, which has provided F-16 fighter jets to Egypt for the last 30 years, and will be integrated immediately into the Egyptian Air Force fleet.
egypt.usembassy.gov

Egypt interested in A400M

The board of directors of Airbus Group met last week at the plant in San Pablo in Seville and the visit of the leadership of the company has transcended information of great significance for the future of its main program in Spain and Andalusia, the the A400M military transport plane. Executive vice president of operations Defense & Space Airbus, the subsidiary that groups all Airbus military affairs, told the staff St. Paul in a speech that Egypt has asked the company to have the A400M as soon as possible.
Has not disclosed the number of units that the African country has requested, but what matters is that would be the first state seeking to buy these aircraft since the program was launched by the customer nations (Germany, United Kingdom, France, Spain, Luxembourg, Turkey, Belgium and Malaysia, which joined in 2005). And even more relevant because last May 9 one of the planes that was by testing before delivery to the Turkish army fell shortly after takeoff in Seville. The accident is therefore not taking effect on the export potential of the device.
Egypt is the first customer of another Airbus military aircraft that is assembled in Seville, the C295, which runs 24 aircraft, the largest fleet in the world defence.pk

Egypt, France In Discussions Over NH90 Helicopter Buy

Negotiations were at an advanced stage as of October 1 between France, and Egypt for the sale of a significant number of NH90 medium helicopters. The order would be a follow-on to recent sales of French armament to the Arab country, especially corvettes, frigates and landing ships—all compatible with the NH90.
Egypt has not issued any formal request for proposals for the multi-role helicopter.
Saudi Arabia is believed to be funding Egypt’s latest weapons purchases.
Egypt may choose between the tactical transport (TTH) and naval (NFH) versions of the NH90, or a mix of the two. The NFH can operate from Gowind-class corvettes or FREMM frigates, and both variants can be based on a Mistral-class landing ship.
Russian candidates like the Kamov Ka-27/29 and the Mi-17 are seen as relatively old technology or not fit for operations aboard ships. Egypt recently ordered Ka-52 attack helicopters, also believed to be intended for use on landing ships. In addition to protecting the Suez Canal, the newly purchased helicopters may help the country support Saudi Arabia’s military campaign in Yemen.
Late last month, the French Navy took delivery of its 15th NH90 naval variant, the first to be delivered in final radar configuration.
ainonline

France, Egypt agree on Mistral warship deal

France has agreed to sell two Mistral helicopter carriers to Egypt after their sale to Russia was cancelled in August.
Cairo has sought to boost its military power in the face of a two-year insurgency based across the Suez Canal in the Sinai peninsula and fears the conflict in neighbouring Libya could spill over. Egypt's allies are also keen to burnish its image in a region beset by turmoil.
A French defence ministry source said the contract was worth about 950 million euros, but unlike the deal with Moscow would not include any technology transfer.
As of yet there had been no talks on the potential armament for the carrier, which can hold up to 16 helicopters and 1,000 troops.
A diplomatic source said Cairo wanted to base one ship in the Mediterranean and another in the Red Sea, making it available for future operations in Yemen, where Egypt is part of a Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi rebels.
The French government agreed to reimburse 950 million euros to Moscow last month after the Mistral sale to Russia was cancelled as a result of the Ukraine crisis.
The deal with Egypt comes as France has nurtured new links with Sunni Arab states, which appreciate its tough stance on their Shi'ite rival Iran and similar positions on the region's conflicts.
France has also benefited from what some Gulf countries perceive as disengagement from a traditional ally, the United States.
The sale will take the number of French naval vessels sold to Egypt to seven in just two years.
Egypt last year bought four small Gowind warships, built by Mistral manufacturer DCNS, which is 64 percent owned by the French state and 35 percent by defence group Thales.
It also acquired a French frigate as part of a 5.2 billion euro contract for 24 Rafale warplanes earlier this year, France's first overseas export of the fighter jet.
reuters

Egypt reportedly to buy 46 MiG-29s

Egypt has agreed a deal to buy 46 MiG-29 fighters, Russian business papers reported on 25 May.
The deal is expected to be signed in "the nearest future", according to two sources in the Russian aviation industry.
Neither the Russian state arms export agency Rosoboronexport nor RSK MiG, the aircraft's manufacturer, would comment on the deal.
There have been reports that Egypt was looking to buy the MiG-29 or the more advanced MiG-35 version since November 2013.
A MiG-29 contract would come after it was announced in February that Egypt would buy 24 Dassault Rafale multirole fighters.
janes

Qatar Buy 24 Rafale To Qatar on a $7 billion deal

Qatar has agreed to buy 24 Rafale fighter jets in a deal worth 6.3 billion euros.
The contract - the third this year for Dassault after deals to sell Rafale jets to Egypt and India - also includes MBDA missiles, and the training of 36 Qatari pilots and 100 technicians by the French army.
Dassault is also in talks aimed at supplying 16 of the multi-role combat jets to Malaysia and has resumed discussions over potential fighter sales to another Gulf Arab state.
reuters

Indian Rafale deal to be finalised by end of May

India and France aim to finalise the deal for 36 Dassault Rafale fighters for the Indian Air Force (IAF) by the end of May.
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi is believed to have insisted on this deadline with his French counterpart Francois Hollande in Paris, soon after announcing the fighters' procurement on 10 April.
Once inked, the IAF will be the first customer, after the French Air Force, to acquire Rafales. Egypt has also agreed to buy 24 Rafales.
A delegation comprising senior French government officials and top Dassault executives is expected in New Delhi over the next few days to begin negotiating the fighter contract.
Dassault is reported to have agreed to more than double its annual Rafale building capacity from 11 to 24 aircraft. The company had slowed down Rafale production rate to around 11 platforms per year as no new orders were forthcoming.
The French government is also believed to have persuaded its air force to reduce its Rafale induction until the IAF contract is fulfilled.
Negotiations between the MoD and Dassault over the acquisition of 126 Rafales under the Medium MultiRole Combat Fighter requirement have been deadlocked since January 2012 due to disagreements about the responsibility for the 108 platforms to be licence built in India.
janes

UAE Restarts Rafale Talks With France

The United Arab Emirates has restarted talks on ordering the Dassault Rafale.
France has been in talks for more than five years on a sale of 60 Rafales, with the UAE requiring a more capable fighter with an extensive weapons suite. The Rafale would replace the fleet of Mirage 2000-9s.
The fresh talks are looking at requirements rather than reviving discussions for 60 Rafales and it is too early to say how many aircraft would be purchased for how much.
The UAE is seen a potential buyer after Egypt sealed a deal for 24 Rafales and India announced a plan to order 36 off the assembly line in France.
The UAE is in talks with the US to order 30 Block 61 Lockheed Martin F-16s, which would add to the 80-strong fleet of Block 60 fighters.
Abu Dhabi had agreed with then-French President Nicolas Sarkozy to consider the Rafale as a replacement to the fleet of Mirage 2000-9s bought in 1998.
Fabius said there are also discussions on the Rafale with Qatar.
defensenews

India To Get 36 Dassault Rafale Fighters

Three years after India opted to purchase the Dassault Aviation Rafale for its MMRCA program in a deal that was to have all but 18 of 126 aircraft produced in India, the nation is now on the verge of finalizing the purchase of an additional 36 French-built Rafales.
In a statement issued April 10 during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to Paris, the Indian premier said New Delhi would purchase 36 Rafale jets in fly-away condition “as quickly as possible,” though both the Indian and French governments said further negotiations are still underway.
Modi and French President Francois Hollande agreed to conclude an intergovernmental agreement to supply the 36 Rafale aircraft under a deal that is separate from a three-year-old negotiation between Paris and New Delhi over the sale of 126 Rafale fighters under the MMRCA tender, which calls for 108 of the combat jets to be produced by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) in India.
The joint statement said delivery of the 36 Rafale aircraft would occur according to a timeframe compatible with operational requirements of the Indian air force (IAF), and that the aircraft and associated systems and weapons would be supplied in the same configuration as those already tested and approved by the IAF under the MMRCA tender.
If concluded, the deal would be a boon to Dassault Aviation, which is already riding high after recently selling 24 Rafales to Egypt, to be delivered by 2019.
aviationweek

US Clears Egypt Hellfire Buy Amidst Yemen Strikes

An Egyptian procurement of 356 AGM-114K/R3 Hellfire II missiles has been cleared by the US State Department, the first new procurement since the White House lifted a freeze on weapon sales to that nation.
The sale also comes as Egypt takes part in anti-militant operations in Yemen, which the US is indirectly aiding with logistical support.
If the sale is given the OK by Congress, it would represent the first sale of the R model of Hellfire to Egypt. Egyptian military forces currently operate the F and K variants.
As soon as the freeze ended, a held-up sale of 12 F-16 aircraft, 20 Harpoon missiles and up to 125 M1A1 Abrams tank kits was cleared.
defensenews

USA Clears Sale of 12 F-16 To Egypt

The White House lifted an executive hold on weapon sales to Egypt Tuesday, as part of a broader attempt to "modernize" the military relationship between the two countries.
President Obama informed Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of the change in the administration's posture. The loosening of restrictions comes just days after Egypt began bombing operations against militants in Yemen.
Since a military coup in October 2013, the White House has frozen military sales to Egypt in hopes it would force democratic reforms in the nation.
In the short term, the US will clear the sale of 12 F-16 aircraft, 20 Harpoon missiles and up to 125 M1A1 Abrams tank kits, which had been held up.
defensenews

Saudi Arabia Launches Air Campaign in Yemen

Saudi Arabia waged early Thursday “Operation Decisive Storm” against the Houthi coup in Yemen and in support of legitimate President.
A Saudi air campaign was launched overnight which has already resulted in the elimination of several Houthi leaders.
Yemen air space is currently under full control of the Saudi Royal Air Force.
As the operation continues, a coalition of all GCC countries, barring Oman, is taking part in the campaign, including Sudan, Egypt, Morocco, Jordan and Pakistan.
Saudi Arabia has deployed 100 fighter jets, 150,000 soldiers and other navy units.
The White House has voiced support for the campaign against the Houthis. Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to Washington Adel al-Jubeir announced the kingdom had launched a military operation involving air strikes in Yemen against Houthi fighters who have tightened their grip on the southern city of Aden where Hadi had taken refuge.
alarabiya

Dassault offers Malaysia 10-yr bank loan to fund Rafale purchase

Dassault has offered Malaysia a 10-year bank loan to support a purchase of the Rafale .
The package is similar to the one offered to Egypt, which in February ordered 24 Rafale fighters.
The repayment package offered to Malaysia features a 10-year loan provided by an unspecified French bank and guaranteed by the government of France.
Dassault is offering the Rafale to meet the Royal Malaysian Air Force's (RMAF's) severely delayed programme to procure a Multirole Combat Aircraft (MRCA).
janes

France To Modify Rafales for Egypt

The Rafale fighter jets sold to Egypt will be modified to remove nuclear missile capability and NATO standard communications.
Once adapted, the fighters will be delivered, with the first three in time for Egyptian pilots to fly the twin-engine fighter in Egyptian colors over the opening of a new waterway on the Suez Canal in August.
One of the Rafale upgrades to F3 standard in 2008 was the air-sol moyenne portée améliorée (ASMPA) missile tipped with the TN-200 nuclear warhead. That capability will be taken off the fighters for Egypt.
As Egypt is not part of NATO, the communication system will be adapted.
Egypt has started paying for its order for 24 Rafales, the first export win for the fighter jet.
Dassault will deliver five Rafales to France this year, and the first batch of three to Egypt, with a second three-strong batch in December or January.
Dassault has delivered 137 Rafales to France, with 43 remaining in the present fourth tranche. The company expects delivery in 2018 of the upgraded F3R version, adapted to fire the Meteor beyond-visual-range missile. Egypt will also receive that advanced version.
The French Navy has received two fighters upgraded to the F3 version from F1 with the remaining eight due to be modernized over two years.
defensenews

French Rafale combat jet deal with Egypt is signed

Egypt has signed the deal to buy 24 Rafale combat jets from France.
Egypt will also get a naval frigate and related military equipment as part of the package.
The official signing comes a year after France won a contract to sell Egypt four frigates .
Paris is hoping to sell 126 of the Rafale jets to India but the deal has yet to be finalised.
euronews