Egypt is set to acquire additional Rafale multirole fighter aircraft from Dassault by the end of this year, the French newspaper La Tribune reported. According to the newspaper, Egypt's government is looking to sign a new agreement with France to supply the new 24 Rafale multirole fighter aircraft by the end of 2018. Under the previous contracts, France had concluded several major military agreements with Egypt, including the sale of 24 Rafales, at a cost of € 5.2 billion. To date, the French company has delivered 14 of Egypt's Rafale aircraft Egypt was the first export client for the Rafale, which was part of a French arms deal that included a Naval Group multimission frigate and four Gowind corvettes, with options for two more. According to the Dassault, the Rafale is a twin-jet combat aircraft capable of carrying out a wide range of short and long-range missions, including ground and sea attacks, reconnaissance, high-accuracy strikes and nuclear strike deterrence. From 2006 to 2011, French Air Force and Navy Rafale fighters were engaged in countless combat missions in Afghanistan where they demonstrated a very high proficiency and a tangible military value. The AASM/HAMMER precision-guided modular air-to-surface armament, PAVEWAY laser-guided bombs, and the 30 mm cannon were employed on many occasions, scoring direct hits with remarkable precision. In 2011, French Air Force and French Navy Rafale fighters were successfully engaged in coalition operations over Libya. In Iraq and Syria, Rafales operate in difficult conditions, far from their bases, taking advantage of their huge operational range to strike distant targets with clinical accuracy.
