Airplane Rafale - A Rafale fighter jet manufactured by Dassault Aviation SA is seen during the 13th Dubai Airshow at Dubai World Central (DWC) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Monday, Nov. 18, 2013.
After twenty years of searching, France has finally found a buyer for its Rafale fighter. President François Hollande announced on Thursday that Egypt will buy 24 aircraft in a deal worth 5.2 billion euros ($5.9 billion), and his defense minister is in Cairo to sign the deal on Monday.
Airplane Rafale
France has been flying its home-built Rafale jet since 2006, testing it in countries such as Afghanistan, Libya, Mali and recently in US airstrikes against ISIS. But manufacturer Dassault Aviation struggled to sell overseas. Agreements in Brazil, Libya, Morocco and Switzerland have failed, and negotiations in India and Qatar are progressing.
France Navy Dassault Rafale Fighter Jet Airplane Editorial Photo
Then came Egypt. Hollande said in a statement that Egypt is "rapidly searching for aircraft because of the threats it faces". He added, "I think, given the current context, it is very important for Egypt to be able to act to maintain stability and be safe."
However, low-budget Egypt could be a surprising buyer for the French fighter jet. It already has Africa's largest air force, and the Rafale, one of the most sophisticated fighter jets on the market, is unlikely to significantly improve its counterinsurgency-fighting capabilities on the ground.
Egypt's acquisition could focus on diversifying its offering, experts say. The military has traditionally been one of America's most reliable arms customers, thanks to the roughly $1 billion a year in aid that Egypt must spend on American equipment. But Washington suspended aid after the military overthrew democratically elected president Mohamed Morsi in 2013 and brutalized Muslim Brotherhood supporters.
While US support was restored, relations deteriorated. Earlier this week, President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, who led the military acquisition, welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin in Cairo and agreed on a joint plan to build Egypt's first nuclear power plant. Opting for French military equipment, President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi also shows that his government does not rely only on the United States "Egypt has been dependent on the United States, where it has begun to try to find such a contingency arrangement. This cannot be taken advantage of by Congress to deal with dissidents pressure to change policy to do so," says Anthony Cordesman, president of Strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "Send a message."
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To be sure, Egypt faces security threats on multiple fronts. Islamist rebels who have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in the Sinai Peninsula, Iraq and Greater Syria have repeatedly carried out deadly attacks on military and oil installations. On the western border, the vacuum of power that has prevailed in Libya since the ouster of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 (thanks in part to French Rafale airstrikes) has kept Islamist groups at bay. Underscoring why Sisi sees them as a threat, a Libyan group linked to ISIS kidnapped 21 Egyptian Copts last month.
But Egypt does not need the Rafale to counter these threats, experts say. The air force already has 230 F-16 fighters, Robert Springborg, a professor at France's Science Po and an expert on Egypt's military, told Le Monde newspaper. The problem is not a lack of planes, but a lack of sufficiently trained pilots, he says. And in Sinai, in particular, American-supplied Apache helicopters will be more effective than counterinsurgency aircraft. "One thing is very clear," says Cordesman. "Based on national priorities there is no military need to buy more fighter jets."
Egypt's economy, on the other hand, has not recovered from the turmoil that followed the Arab Spring protests that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011. Thirteen percent of the country is still unemployed, including more than half of the population under the age of 25. The IMF predicts that growth will reach 3.8 percent this year, a step in the right direction, but still well below the previous average of five percent. The protests of 2011.
But France was "desperate" to sell the Rafale after twenty years, Cordesman says. Although Egyptian media reported that the Gulf states financed Egypt's latest military deals, French banks will finance more than half of the purchase price. And while it's unclear what Egypt is paying for the plane, Cordesman says it's likely that France has already given Egypt a big discount for the first sale, while negotiating a much larger order for 126 flights with India. "My guess is they're not pay lists, or anything like that," he says.
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The original version of this story incorrectly identified the speaker of the references to Egypt's purchase of Rafale jets from France. It was Anthony Cordesman. This section of the article may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. Please consider expanding the guide to provide an accessible overview of all relevant aspects of the article. (December 2018)
The Rafale deal controversy is a political controversy in India related to Dassault Aviation's purchase of 36 Rafale multi-role fighter jets from France by the Indian Ministry of Defce at a price of 7,870 million Euros (58,891 crores). The deal has its origins in India's MMRCA tender, a multi-billion dollar technology transfer contract to supply 126 multi-role combat aircraft to the Indian Air Force (IAF).
On December 14, 2018, the Supreme Court upheld the Rafale deal, stating that no irregularities or corruption had been found.
On November 14, 2019, the Supreme Court issued a final ruling on the controversy and dismissed all requests for review of the December 2018 ruling.
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In June 2021, a French judge was appointed to lead a judicial investigation into alleged corruption and favoritism in the deal.
In a joint press conference held by Nardra Modi and François Hollande on 10 April 2015, Modi announced his intention to acquire 36 Rafales.
On 31 January 2012, India's Ministry of Defce announced that Dassault Rafale had won the MMRCA tender to supply 126 aircraft to the Indian Air Force, with an option for an additional 63 aircraft. The first 18 aircraft were to be delivered fully built by Dassault Aviation and the remaining 108 aircraft were to be manufactured under license by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) with technology transfer from Dassault. The Rafale was selected as the lowest bidder based on life cycle cost, which is a combination of acquisition cost, 40-year operational cost and technology transfer cost.
Negotiations with Dassault were delayed due to disagreements over the warranty of aircraft manufactured by HAL. India wanted Dassault to guarantee the quality of the aircraft produced by HAL, but Dassault refused.
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In January 2014, the cost of the deal was reported to have risen to $30,000 billion (₹1,86,000 crore), with each aircraft costing $120 million (₹746 million).
In February 2014, Defense Minister A. K. Antony said that the life-cycle costing procedure had been revised and the contract could not be awarded in 2013-14 due to budget constraints.
After the April–May 2014 Indian general elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance took control of the government from the Indian National Congress-led United Progressive Alliance.
As disagreements over the cost and warranty of the HAL-produced aircraft continued, Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar said the Sukhoi Su-30MKI could be procured as an alternative to the Rafale.
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Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha disagreed, saying the Su-30MKI and the Rafale had different capabilities and were not interchangeable.
In February 2015, it was reported that the Rafale procurement was targeted for cancellation, deemed the lowest bidder, due to deficiencies in Dassault's bid.
On 25 March 2015, Dassault CEO Éric Trappier said that although the deal was taking time, it was "95% complete".
During his official visit to France in April 2015, Indian Prime Minister Nardra Modi announced that India would acquire 36 fully-built Rafales, citing a "critical operational need".
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In July 2015, Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar informed the Rajya Sabha that the tder of 126 aircraft had been withdrawn and negotiations had begun for 36 aircraft.
In January 2016, India and France signed a memorandum of understanding for the purchase of 36 aircraft without specifying the financial terms of the purchase.
In May 2016, the two sides had agreed to 7.87 billion euros (Rs 58.891 crore) for the deal, compared to 11.8 billion euros in April 2015 and 8.6 billion euros quoted in January 2016.
Unnamed government officials quoted by the Press Trust of India said the drop in prices was due to a change in the hike formula from a fixed 3.9% to a floating rate linked to European inflation indices capped at 3.5%.
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In September 2016, India and France signed an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA).
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