EDEX 2025: Egypt Begins Certified Rafale Component Production in Local Aerospace Factories
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Egypt has confirmed that its industry is now manufacturing certified Rafale fighter components, a move showcased at EDEX 2025. The shift gives Cairo new leverage in regional defense production and expands Dassault’s supply chain into North Africa.
Egypt’s push to localize advanced aerospace manufacturing took a visible step forward at EDEX 2025, where the Arab Organization for Industrialization displayed Rafale wing sections marked as Egyptian-made. According to officials cited by the Egypt Independent, Egypt has now been formally approved by Dassault to produce select airframe components for the multirole fighter, adding Cairo to the French company’s global supply chain. The update reflects nearly a decade of deepening cooperation between the two countries since Egypt became the first foreign Rafale operator in 2015.Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
At EDEX 2025, the Arab Organization for Industrialization showcased newly manufactured Rafale wing components, marking Egypt’s first confirmed production of parts for the French multirole fighter under its expanding industrial partnership with Dassault Aviation (Picture source: Army Recognition Group).
Egypt is today one of the Rafale’s most important export customers. Cairo’s Rafale journey began with a 2015 contract for 24 aircraft, worth roughly 5.9 billion dollars, making Egypt the first foreign operator and giving the Egyptian Air Force eight single-seat EM and sixteen two-seat DM fighters. A second order for 30 additional F3R standard aircraft was signed in May 2021 in a deal estimated at 3.75 billion euros and largely financed through a long-term French-backed loan, raising the planned Egyptian fleet to 54 aircraft, the largest Rafale force outside France. With ongoing deliveries, more than forty Rafales are now believed to be operational in Egyptian service.
The Egyptian Rafale is a high-end F3R configuration built around the Thales RBE2 AESA radar, the SPECTRA electronic warfare and self-protection suite, and a sensor fusion architecture that gives pilots a unified tactical picture. The twin-engine M88 powerplant allows the aircraft to reach close to Mach 1.8 and operate at altitudes approaching 50,000 feet while carrying a significant weapons load across its 14 hardpoints. Egypt’s Rafales are qualified to employ MICA air-to-air missiles, the Meteor long-range air dominance missile, AASM Hammer precision guided bombs, the SCALP cruise missile, and the Exocet anti-ship missile. This mix gives the Egyptian Air Force a true omnirole fleet that can shift from air superiority to deep strike or maritime strike within a single mission cycle.
It is this level of capability that explains why the industrial story behind the aircraft matters. AOI has now been approved by Dassault as part of the company’s global supply chain, with the Helwan-based Aircraft and Engine factories manufacturing selected Rafale components, including elements of the wing structure and associated fairings, as well as parts for Falcon business jets. Egyptian officials have stated that AOI is producing high-precision parts to French quality standards and positioning itself as an export-ready supplier not only for Egypt’s own fleet but also for broader regional markets. At EDEX 2025, the Rafale wing sections on display at the AOI stand offered clear and tangible proof that these commitments have entered serial production.
For Egypt, this cooperation goes far beyond traditional offset. By fabricating wing components, engine parts, and potentially composite structures, AOI engineers are gaining access to Dassault’s design tolerances, digital manufacturing processes, and strict quality assurance regimes. This exposure accelerates the learning curve across Egypt’s aerospace sector, covering areas such as tooling, non-destructive testing, advanced coatings, and aerostructures assembly. Egyptian defense leaders have been explicit that these Rafale work packages are meant to anchor a broader aerospace ecosystem capable of supporting the country’s drone programs, MRO services, and future combat aircraft acquisitions.
Strategically, the relationship also deepens the long-standing Franco-Egyptian defense axis. Wing and engine components built in Cairo could ultimately fly not only on Egyptian Rafales but potentially on aircraft delivered to other customers, embedding Egypt into the life cycle of a major European fighter program. For the Egyptian Air Force, that should translate into more predictable spares availability and the possibility of evolving into a regional Rafale maintenance and upgrade hub. For Dassault, integrating AOI’s increasingly capable manufacturing base offers a way to remain cost-competitive while expanding its industrial footprint across Arab and African markets.
On the EDEX show floor, the grey Rafale wing sections sitting on AOI’s stand signal that Egypt is moving from being only a Rafale buyer to becoming a small but genuine Rafale builder, with all the strategic and industrial leverage that status brings.
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Egypt has confirmed that its industry is now manufacturing certified Rafale fighter components, a move showcased at EDEX 2025. The shift gives Cairo new leverage in regional defense production and expands Dassault’s supply chain into North Africa.
Egypt’s push to localize advanced aerospace manufacturing took a visible step forward at EDEX 2025, where the Arab Organization for Industrialization displayed Rafale wing sections marked as Egyptian-made. According to officials cited by the Egypt Independent, Egypt has now been formally approved by Dassault to produce select airframe components for the multirole fighter, adding Cairo to the French company’s global supply chain. The update reflects nearly a decade of deepening cooperation between the two countries since Egypt became the first foreign Rafale operator in 2015.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
At EDEX 2025, the Arab Organization for Industrialization showcased newly manufactured Rafale wing components, marking Egypt’s first confirmed production of parts for the French multirole fighter under its expanding industrial partnership with Dassault Aviation (Picture source: Army Recognition Group).
Egypt is today one of the Rafale’s most important export customers. Cairo’s Rafale journey began with a 2015 contract for 24 aircraft, worth roughly 5.9 billion dollars, making Egypt the first foreign operator and giving the Egyptian Air Force eight single-seat EM and sixteen two-seat DM fighters. A second order for 30 additional F3R standard aircraft was signed in May 2021 in a deal estimated at 3.75 billion euros and largely financed through a long-term French-backed loan, raising the planned Egyptian fleet to 54 aircraft, the largest Rafale force outside France. With ongoing deliveries, more than forty Rafales are now believed to be operational in Egyptian service.
The Egyptian Rafale is a high-end F3R configuration built around the Thales RBE2 AESA radar, the SPECTRA electronic warfare and self-protection suite, and a sensor fusion architecture that gives pilots a unified tactical picture. The twin-engine M88 powerplant allows the aircraft to reach close to Mach 1.8 and operate at altitudes approaching 50,000 feet while carrying a significant weapons load across its 14 hardpoints. Egypt’s Rafales are qualified to employ MICA air-to-air missiles, the Meteor long-range air dominance missile, AASM Hammer precision guided bombs, the SCALP cruise missile, and the Exocet anti-ship missile. This mix gives the Egyptian Air Force a true omnirole fleet that can shift from air superiority to deep strike or maritime strike within a single mission cycle.
It is this level of capability that explains why the industrial story behind the aircraft matters. AOI has now been approved by Dassault as part of the company’s global supply chain, with the Helwan-based Aircraft and Engine factories manufacturing selected Rafale components, including elements of the wing structure and associated fairings, as well as parts for Falcon business jets. Egyptian officials have stated that AOI is producing high-precision parts to French quality standards and positioning itself as an export-ready supplier not only for Egypt’s own fleet but also for broader regional markets. At EDEX 2025, the Rafale wing sections on display at the AOI stand offered clear and tangible proof that these commitments have entered serial production.
For Egypt, this cooperation goes far beyond traditional offset. By fabricating wing components, engine parts, and potentially composite structures, AOI engineers are gaining access to Dassault’s design tolerances, digital manufacturing processes, and strict quality assurance regimes. This exposure accelerates the learning curve across Egypt’s aerospace sector, covering areas such as tooling, non-destructive testing, advanced coatings, and aerostructures assembly. Egyptian defense leaders have been explicit that these Rafale work packages are meant to anchor a broader aerospace ecosystem capable of supporting the country’s drone programs, MRO services, and future combat aircraft acquisitions.
Strategically, the relationship also deepens the long-standing Franco-Egyptian defense axis. Wing and engine components built in Cairo could ultimately fly not only on Egyptian Rafales but potentially on aircraft delivered to other customers, embedding Egypt into the life cycle of a major European fighter program. For the Egyptian Air Force, that should translate into more predictable spares availability and the possibility of evolving into a regional Rafale maintenance and upgrade hub. For Dassault, integrating AOI’s increasingly capable manufacturing base offers a way to remain cost-competitive while expanding its industrial footprint across Arab and African markets.
On the EDEX show floor, the grey Rafale wing sections sitting on AOI’s stand signal that Egypt is moving from being only a Rafale buyer to becoming a small but genuine Rafale builder, with all the strategic and industrial leverage that status brings.
