Posted on 02/16/2015 8:20:38 PM PST by Nachum
France on Monday signed an agreement with Egypt for the first foreign sale of its Rafale fighter jet, in a deal that will boost Cairo’s military as it tackles jihadists, AFP reported.
Paris hopes the 5.2 billion euro ($5.9 billion) deal for 24 Rafale fighters to be delivered later this year will prompt others to snap up its latest combat jet.
For Egypt, the agreement is a show of support for President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, who overthrew his Islamist predecessor in 2013 and wants to break a U.S. monopoly over Egypt’s arms supplies.
In October of 2013, three months after Islamist President Mohammed Morsi was ousted, the United States announced that it would withdraw a significant portion of its military aid to Egypt in an act of protest over the violence in Egypt following the ouster.
Several months ago, however, Washington resumed some of the annual $1.5 billion in aid to Cairo, including 10 Apache helicopter gunships for counterterrorism efforts in the Sinai Peninsula.
France’s Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and Sisi oversaw Monday’s signing of the deal at the presidential palace in Cairo.
“Our two countries are pursuing a common struggle against terrorism,” Le Drian said during the signing ceremony, according to AFP.
(Excerpt) Read more at israelnationalnews.com ...
The list, Ping
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No US “Ally” can.
Obama is the epitome of the term “Paper Tiger”.
Didn’t Obama sell* them M1A1 tanks andF-16 fighters??
*bought with the military aid money we gave them
in April of 2014 - Obama gave Egypt some Apache helicopters
As of 2013, more than 1,000 M1A1 tanks were co-produced by the US and Egypt in a partnership deal. Another 200 on order.
F-16's were still arriving in Aug of 2013
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