Egypt has received a third batch of Rafales from Dassault Aviation. The delivery was reported on April 4, 2017.
The Egyptian military confirmed the delivery of new Rafales to the Air Force, noting that this is the third such delivery.
Following the delivery, Egypt now is in possession of nine Rafales, out of an order for 24. These are mix of single-seat Rafale DMs (eight jets) and dual-seat Rafale EMs (16 jets).
#Breaking: #Egypt received 3 more Rafale bringing its number to 9 fighter jets delivered. (spox) pic.twitter.com/Tx6MDUfWlA— Sa’ka (@BTelawy) April 5, 2017
The Egyptian Ministry of Defense released footage from the acceptance ceremony. The jets all appear to be single-seat.
The first batch of three jets arrived in July 2015 while another was delivered in January 2016.
In July 2016, the single-seat jet EM01 was spotted making test flights. Later in the year, in December, DM16 was spotted undergoing testing.
💢 Le 7ème #Rafale qui va être réceptionné par l’armée de l’Air egyptienne sera monoplace, l’EM01. Via @DefensAero pic.twitter.com/y75MtUm3AD— AG / Analyse Globale (@hernanfavier) July 12, 2016
EXCLUSIVE !New Rafale DM for Egyptian Air Force http://t.co/Wu97rzzmeM pic.twitter.com/D5UK4e4gRF
— Defens’Aero (@DefensAero) December 15, 2016
Throughout 2017, Egypt is expected to receive five more jets, to bring its total inventory to 14. The remaining jets in the order will be delivered in the next two years.
Cairo may also exercise its option for another order of 12 Rafale jets. The two reportedly began discussing the option for 12 additional jets in 2016, though no agreement has been reached. Neither side has confirmed the negotiations.
UPDATE: This post has been updated to add confirmation of the delivery.
Military markets analyst, covering Eurasia, Middle East, and Africa.
