Next month, defence minister Rajnath Singh is heading to Egypt for a bilateral meeting with his counterpart which is expected to focus on strengthening defence cooperation between the two countries and the possibility of exports of military platforms.
It is well-known that Egypt’s ageing fleet of MiG-29s and Mirage 5s are near obsolete now and have pushed the country to look for new fighters. After the Egyptian Air Force first revealed its intention to acquire the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft `Tejas’ aircraft at the 2021 Dubai Air Show. Since then there have been several meetings between the officials of both sides.
India & Egypt Defence Partnership
The partnership which flourished in the 1960s witnessed a revival in 2021 following a series of engagements between the militaries of both countries. In the Arab world Egypt holds a very important place as it has one of the biggest and strongest militaries in the region.
In October 2021, the first ever Indian Air Force-Egyptian Air Force had Joint Tactical Air Exercise, ‘Desert Warrior’, and this was followed by the visit of the Chief of Indian Air Force Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari to that country where he had attended the ‘Egypt Air Power Symposium’ and he had also delivered keynote address on ‘Strategic Air Intelligence in confronting new and non-organized threats.’ While there the Air Chief had also attended the Egyptian Defence Exposition (EDEX), where Indian companies too had taken part.
As has been reported earlier in Financial Express Online, this year in June a contingent of the Indian Air Force which had three Su-30MKI aircrafts and two C-17 aircrafts, participated in the month long ‘Tactical Leadership Programme’ .
Egypt interested in LCA
The Arab nation is seeking to diversify its fleet as much as possible, likely to evade political constraints and the strings that come attached with defence acquisitions. To that end, it has ordered Lockheed Martin F-16s, Su-35s, and French Mirage.
“Tejas and India’s arsenal of home-grown missiles could meet Egypt’s operational requirements. Indications also suggest that Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) has offered to partially set up a production facility in Egypt to produce indigenous LCA. India is a new player in the fighter aircraft export market, and it is obviously aiming to create a foothold for its indigenously built warplane. That provides assurance that there are going to be fewer restrictions compared to what some other countries levy,” Girish Linganna, Aerospace & Defence Analyst tells Financial Express Online.
“Another important fact that needs to be considered is the political equation between New Delhi and Cairo. One can see the amicable nature of the relationship between India and Egypt through indications like Egypt commemorating 75 years of diplomatic relations between the two nations recently, economic cooperation etc.,” Girish Lingana opined.
Collaboration in the defence sector is also not too far behind
Just last month, both the countries held a major exercise between their respective Air Forces. It was a distinct exercise with aerial assets in a massive force engagement environment. Besides strengthening cooperation and sharing best practices, the exercise also allowed India to display its ability and expertise when related to the indigenization of spares and necessary components. This is a good sign for India’s defence export to the different countries across the globe.
A delegation from the Egyptian Air Force, led by their Air Chief Mahmoud Foaad Abd El-Gawad, had visited India recently and the sides talked about the possibilities of future engagement with the Indian defence industry for imports of several platforms and arms. Given that the LCA’s current specifications fit well with the needs of Egypt’s Air Force, and the fact that the delegation was led by one of the people who will undoubtedly be a part if the acquisition process, gives good reason to be optimistic.