Israeli media: Egypt to be equipped with advanced French Meteor missiles for Rafale fighter jets
The Israeli news outlet Natsif Net has reported that Egypt has received French-made Meteor long-range air-to-air missiles for its Rafale fighter jets, a move that the media outlet says could affect the balance of air power in the region.
According to this report, the United States had refused to sell long-range air-to-air missiles to Egypt for decades in order to maintain Israel’s qualitative superiority in the region, but France has pursued the sale of the Meteor missile within the framework of military cooperation with Cairo.
The Meteor missile is one of Europe’s long-range air-to-air missiles, and using a ramjet engine, it is capable of engaging targets at a distance of more than 100 kilometers. Egypt has also been developing its air power in recent years by purchasing Rafale fighter jets.
Natsifnet considered this development a sign of a change in Egypt’s arms policy and the country’s diversification of its sources of arms purchases, and wrote that Israel may turn to strengthening its fighter jets, electronic warfare systems, and air-to-air missiles made in the United States to maintain its air superiority.
The report was published at a time when relations between France and Israel have been fraught with disagreements over Paris’ policies in the Middle East. The report also adds that Egypt has diversified its arms supply sources over the past years among various countries, including France, Russia, Germany and Italy.
