Egyptian Armed Forces
- Thread starter The SC
- Start date
The SC
INT'L MOD
- Thread starter
- #2,222
Ning Yiming, the leader of one of the Chinese J-16 fighter jets participating in the "Eagles of Civilization 2026" exercises on Egyptian soil, stated to Chinese television:
"We were deeply impressed by the precise training style of the Egyptian pilots, and their close cooperation and excellent tactical and technical skills during the joint training—we learned from each other.
"We were deeply impressed by the precise training style of the Egyptian pilots, and their close cooperation and excellent tactical and technical skills during the joint training—we learned from each other.
Ramses Akhenaten Ahmose
Registered Member
So why did they approve Egypts involvement in the project??? You need to step back and understand that not everything is a hundred percent in Turkish favors. The way everyone sees is it is that both sides go as winners, if there was nothing for turkey to gain they wouldn’t have signed the deal in the first place with Egypt
Doesn’t change the fact that you haven’t designed engines for the aircraft yet.
A simple google search will confirm what I stated about the Turkish drone industry, you don’t even need ai to summarize things for you, just admit you’re wrong bro, there’s no shame in that. Saying “BS” like it means something does not disprove my points.
As far as Egyptian military manufacturing, look into EDEX with their annual projects, some already going into mass production, if not limited production. The list is too long for me to list them so that’s on you to search it up.
Attack helos are becoming more and more niche as the proliferation of drones expands, hence why the EAF is prioritizing drone expertise more so then helicopters, but they STILL have there use just because there’s so many of them still around. Be it training or supply or logistics. But come the mid 2030s you’ll see drones executing the roles of attack helos more often since they’re production friendly and affordable.
Aircraft wise, Egypt would’ve been 2-3 decades ahead of turkey in this arena if it wasn’t for the 6 day war blunder and economic woes in its past, it was manufacturing ha 200s in the late 50s and had plans to put the Ha 300 into service, for the time it was said to be a good aircraft and would’ve given eaf amazing knowledge and expertise in the field of military aeronautics back in the late 60s going onwards.
The SC
INT'L MOD
- Thread starter
- #2,225
The Chinese Air Force's Yun-20U fuel tanker aircraft refuels an Egyptian Rafale fighter aircraft in mid-air during the China-Egypt joint exercises "Eagles of Civilization - 2026".
The Chinese newspaper Sohu spoke about the possibility of Egypt heading to obtain 6 Chinese air refueling aircraft from the Y-20 family, as part of strengthening the capabilities of the Egyptian Air Force in the field of long-range operations.
The Chinese newspaper Sohu spoke about the possibility of Egypt heading to obtain 6 Chinese air refueling aircraft from the Y-20 family, as part of strengthening the capabilities of the Egyptian Air Force in the field of long-range operations.
Ramses Akhenaten Ahmose
Registered Member
So mrtts are out of the equation?
Ramses Akhenaten Ahmose
Registered Member
It just feels off putting when you intermix with equipment from multiple nations on every aspect of the armed forces, kinda like the Indian airforce even though they are compatible for in air refueling
The SC
INT'L MOD
- Thread starter
- #2,233
For everyone who doubted the existence of the Meteor
Cairo News announces his presence within the Egyptian Rafale armament
We used to say that the meteor was delivered with the new batch, but most of the fraudsters denied its existence, knowing that the first batch of the rack did not actually have the meter, because at the time of receiving it, the meteor was being tested, so it is natural that the first batch did not have the meteor..
Cairo News announces his presence within the Egyptian Rafale armament
We used to say that the meteor was delivered with the new batch, but most of the fraudsters denied its existence, knowing that the first batch of the rack did not actually have the meter, because at the time of receiving it, the meteor was being tested, so it is natural that the first batch did not have the meteor..
The SC
INT'L MOD
- Thread starter
- #2,235
Egypt has formally requested information from Dassault Aviation on the possible acquisition of another 24 Rafale fighters. If the deal is concluded, Cairo’s fleet would increase from 54 aircraft already ordered to 78. The timing is particularly interesting: the request comes immediately after Egyptian Rafales trained against Chinese J-16s during Eagles of Civilization 2026, while Beijing is simultaneously trying to expand its position on the Egyptian defence market.
Egypt ordered its first 24 Rafales in 2015 and another 30 in 2021. All 54 aircraft are expected to be in service by the end of 2026. According toLa Tribune, Cairo has now sent Dassault Aviation a formal request for proposals concerning another 24 fighters. This is not yet a contract, but it is significantly more advanced than general political interest.
Rafale and the Egyptian Air Force
The Rafale is today the most capable combat aircraft available to the Egyptian Air Force. This is particularly important because Cairo must gradually begin replacing its very large and ageing F-16 fleet. More than 200 F-16s remain in service from approximately 240 originally ordered, while some aircraft date back to deliveries made in the early 1980s. Another 24 Rafales could therefore be the beginning of a much larger process rather than simply the expansion of the existing Rafale fleet.
There is also an important question of weapons. For decades, Washington refused to provide Egypt with AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles for its F-16s, with restrictions closely connected to the preservation of Israel’s Qualitative Military Edge. Egyptian F-16s therefore still lack a modern active-radar beyond-visual-range missile and remain dependent primarily on the older AIM-7 Sparrow for medium-range engagements.
The American position began to change in 2025, but only partially. Washington approved a potential $4.67 billion sale of NASAMS to Egypt, including 100 AIM-120C-8 AMRAAMs and 100 AMRAAM-ER missiles. However, these weapons were approved for the ground-based air-defence system, not for Egyptian F-16s. As of September 2026, there has been no publicly announced approval to integrate the AIM-120 with Egypt’s F-16 fleet.
The situation with the Meteor is different. Its precise numbers and operational status have never been publicly detailed by Cairo or Paris. Nevertheless, specialist defence sources now list Egypt as a Meteor customer for the Rafale. This potentially gives Egyptian Rafales a very-long-range air-to-air capability that the country’s F-16 fleet does not possess in comparable form. It is another reason why the Rafale occupies a special position in Egyptian combat aviation.
What about China?
At the same time, Egypt is not closing the door to China. During Eagles of Civilization 2026, Egyptian Rafales trained directly against Chinese J-16s. Even more interestingly, an Egyptian Rafale was publicly shown being refuelled by a Chinese YY-20A tanker. Egypt does not currently operate its own tanker fleet, so Beijing was able to demonstrate not only a fighter aircraft but an entire aviation package: J-16 fighters, KJ-500 airborne early-warning aircraft, Y-9LG electronic-warfare platforms, Y-20 transports and YY-20A tankers.
This matters because China is not offering Cairo only another fighter. It is showing how several aircraft can operate together as one system. The compatibility of the YY-20A with the Rafale is particularly useful for Beijing because it demonstrates a capability that could fill an existing gap in the Egyptian Air Force without requiring Egypt to abandon its French aircraft.
The timing of the new Rafale request is therefore noteworthy. There is no evidence that the exercise against the J-16 directly influenced Egypt’s procurement decision. However, the reported request for another 24 French fighters shortly after Eagles of Civilization shows something important that closer Egyptian military cooperation with China does not mean that Cairo is moving away from France. On the contrary, Egypt appears willing to work with both sides while keeping the Rafale at the center of its most capable combat-aircraft fleet.
https://defence24.com/armed-forces/egypt-wants-more-rafales
