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The delivery of the FREMM "Thaya Misr" (former "Normandy") in Lorient on 23 June, attended by Jean-Yves Le Drian and his Egyptian counterpart, General Sedki Sobhi, marks the beginning of reorganizing Egyptian navy.
Indeed, Egyptian naval forces will be restructured into two different fleets: one for the Mediterranean and the other for the Red Sea. This in a context where the safety of shipping in the Red Sea is becoming increasingly important.
The Egyptian authorities have launched negotiations on the option of two additional corvettes Gowind, in addition to four already ordered. Moreover, the Egyptian authorities, who initially asked for two FREMM (France is that having accepted delivery of a ship) should initiate discussions on the acquisition of a sistership.
Evocative sign, the Americans delivered last week, the last two missile patrol Ambassador Mk III in Egypt, but neither Washington nor Cairo have raised the possibility of removing the option for two additional vessels.
The delivery of the FREMM also marks the opening of a new stage in relations between the two navies: Jean-Yves Le Drian has announced the appointment of a senior officer as the DGA armaments attaché in Cairo to accelerate this cooperation. Bilateral exercises, Cleopatra, will be organized every year in the Mediterranean to increase interoperability between the two navies.
For DCNS, this delivery also marks a new stage: first, because the sale of the "Normandie" Egypt was as a direct result the acceleration of French FREMM program, for which DCNS would have won two more years. And his office has obtained a workload for the next ten years, the financial impact of the sale used to fund the midsize frigate program (FTI), for which DCNS has signed a contract with the DGA.
These 4000 tons of buildings should be presented officially at the next Euronaval. The FTI should meet the needs of the Navy but also those of the export market. Needs estimated by experts between 40 and 50 units, particularly in countries of the western coast of Latin America, Saudi Arabia and the UAE ... The sale to Egypt also helps forestall two