موضوع لارسن
Africa Intelligence
1
EGYPT DEFENCE Issue dated 05/04/2021
Cairo committed to corvettes and patrol vessels being 'Made in Egypt'
As European majors like Damen, Fincantieri and Navantia try to woo Cairo as it plans to acquire 20 patrol vessels and six corvettes, the Egyptian Navy insists on solid partnerships and the transfer of technological knowledge.
According to our sources, the Egyptian Navy plans to purchase around 20 offshore patrol vessels (OPV) to guard its coastline and exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Several major European shipyards, including the Dutch Damen Shipyards, Italian Fincantieri, and Spanish Navantia, as well as French OCEA and Constructions Mécaniques de Normandie (CMN) are working hard to charm and impress the navy's general staff, led by Commander Ahmed Khaled Said and rear adm Ashraf Mogahed.
Cairo is also looking to acquire six new corvette warships. For both projects, Egypt wishes to favour local involvement and the transfer of technical knowledge. This was already the state's strategy in 2014, on a €1bn contract with French Naval Group for four Gowind 2500corvettes. Three of the ships were built by Egyptian Alexandria Shipyard (ASY), owned by the minister of defence through Maritime Industries and Services Organization (MIASO). Last year, the same shipyard began building four Meko A-200ENfrigates using German technology provided by ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS).
In a similar vein, German shipyard Lürssen won last year a €130m tender for ten patrol vessels. Its owner Peter Lürssen visited ASY in August 2020 and returned to Egypt in January to meet with President Abdelfattah al-Sissi. They discussed the construction of various ship models, the transfer of technical knowledge and training for Egyptian Navy's crews.