Russia has won a tender for the supply of Ka-52K helicopters to Egypt, according to the head of the Russian federal service for military-technical cooperation, Dmitry Shugayev.
Shugayev told media, “We can say with satisfaction that Russia won the bidding contest.”
It is not known if Cairo had been seriously considering any other helicopter models for its Mistral helicopter carrier vessels.
“It is now important to agree the technical concept of the helicopter and the financial conditions. In other words, to do pre-contract work, which is rather tight. There is nothing surprising here, just as in our relations in general. The work is going on and the contact is quite remarkable and significant,” Shugayev explained.
Russian officials have previously indicated that negotiations with Cairo over the Ka-52K were ongoing but not yet completed. Shugayev’s statement confirms that no pricing has been agreed to yet.
In addition to the Ka-52Ks, Egypt already has on order 46 Ka-52s, the first of which are expected to be delivered this year. It has generally been reported that the negotiations for Ka-52Ks are in addition to that order and will not therefore be an amendment to it, though this is unclear.
The Ka-52Ks are intended to equip Egypt’s Mistral helicopter carriers.
Egypt purchased the Mistral vessels in 2015, shortly after a Russian-French deal over the ships fell apart over the situation in Ukraine. Both ships were delivered last year.
Military markets analyst, covering Eurasia, Middle East, and Africa.
