Inside story on talks over €5bn Naval Group submarine sale to Egypt
The Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi wants to buy up to six Barracuda-class submarines from Naval Group, the European naval defence leader of which the French state owns 62%. But France is dragging its heels on what would be a more than €5bn contract..
https://www.africaintelligence.com/...l-group-submarine-sale-to-egypt,109810259-eve
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Negotiating since March ... as the French newspaper La Tribune reported, but the number that Egypt is negotiating or the price of the deal has not been announced..
Negotiation does not necessarily mean signing a deal of this size, if signed, will need at least a full decade to complete it..Barracuda is the best submarine available for export now, and the price, if correct, is great compared to the specifications..
If there is truth to this very possible scenario, then this will be huge. You had mentioned about a year and a half ago that the EN was interested in these Barracudas, I believe something like 2 of them at the time and now they're talking about possibly 6 of them!? Holy moly that brings a lot of fascinating dynamics into the Egyptian military power and specifically the navy, of course.
Submarines are the quintessential deadly & stealthy assets of any military. They actually represent a military's true strength because of their lethality as weapons platforms with their ability to stay hidden underwater while creating ultimate fear and the potential of massive destruction.
Heck, we even know how much the Egyptian military understands that concept very well, you would almost think they understand it better than many others because of what and how they've invested into anti-submarine warfare AND anti-submarine warfare platforms and training. If you think about it, how many assets have they dedicated to that? Most of the frigates they bought are not necessarily ASW (anti-submarine warfare) ships, nor are they fully dedicated ASUW (Anti Surface Warfare) or even ADW (Air Defense Warfare) although most of them such as the Gowinds and Bergaminis and even the MEKOs that are coming are more geared for ASUW & ADW roles.
Take the French-built Aquitaine FREMM, Tahya Misr, is a pure DPW (Dual Purpose Warfare + ADW) while the one Aquitaine FREMM that Morocco bought for its navy and is identical to the Tahya Misr, is strictly an ASW platform. They might've heavily considered a counter to Algeria's 5 deadly Kilo submarines.
But the EN has put a lot of stock into anti-submarine warfare as well. with practically all the Oliver Perry Class & the Knox Class frigates which are purely anti-submarine warfare ships. Then they've dedicated an entire squadron of helicopters strictly for hunting submarines in the 8 Kaman SH-2 Seasprite helicopters and I wouldn't doubt if they'll be equipping and using some of the newly purchased AW-149s/189s as ASW helos.
They also have very capable and heavy ASW capabilities in their E-2C Hawkeyes. Those dish-carrying birds aren't strictly performing AEWCs missions for airborne enemies only. They actually hunt submarines very effectively hence why the US Navy uses them on its aircraft carriers for their dual roles. They hunt for intel and airborne early warning and command of enemy aircraft just as much as they hunt for submarine threats to the carriers.
I'll post it if I see it again, but I just recently saw a quick clip or a P-8 Poseidon flying over a patch of the Mediterranean Sea, and it was filming a submarine that was at periscope depth and the clarity of the submarine was described as a result of the clear waters of the Mediterranean Sea, which made it much easier for the P-8 to spot. They never said who's submarine it was, but it was incredible footage.
We've also seen Egyptian Navy seem very interested in that Italian aircraft that's basically their version of the P-8 Poseidon I forget what it's called. I think you either opened a thread on it or posted the news of the EN interested in it on this thread. Do you remember what it was?
Apparently now they've determined that the Jews having lost their panties in a bunch to the Germans for selling us 4 Type 209 submarines which pose a tremendous threat to them and their navy -- not sure why since we respect the peace treaty better than anyone could -- that they have most likely backed out of offering anything substantially better than the Type 209 to the EN. It also appears the EN is obviously looking for a heavily armed, powerful, blue water submarine with AIP technology to boost that deadly submarine warfare capability and put the EN on the top. This is such a great choice and we're all very well aware of the superb quality and capabilities of French designed platforms, from the vaunted Mirages to Rafales. to their impeccable FREMM designs as well as the immaculate Gowind Corvettes and of course, their aircraft carriers and now Submarines. The EN is making a very sound decision if it really is pursuing these submarines and then if they're serious about the aircraft carrier with Rafale Ms would tie the Egyptian Navy into a super solid all-encompassing French naval assets that will tie in the other Euro ones very nicely and smoothly such as the Type 209s subs, MEKO frigates (I found out why those have that soot mark on the side of the hulls BTW) and of course, the impeccable and most beautiful ships of all, the Bergamini FREMMs. This in going to be a very badass navy more so than it already is.
What i really don't like about this picture is that sf are using a mix of western/eastern rifles within the same squad, I can let go of logistics when it comes to vehicles and aircraft, but not small arms, thats just something that should be solved at ground level. You don't want your men scrambling for diffrent parts and calibers and whatnot. Either fully standardize on western or eastern small arms. Thats why I believe they should put the 807 bren in service for all branches since its a kit gun, and is dual caliber
Honestly, RAA (that's what I'm calling you from now on, bro lol. I'm acronyming your user name since it's so gaddam long lmaoooo) I don't really think it's that much of an issue as you might think it is.
Typically, each infantry level from squad to battalion to division will all be carrying the same size & caliber rounds, even if the rifles are different. For example, the ARX-160 which is capable of switching from 7.62 x 39 to NATO 5.56 x 45 in a relatively quick field change of two components I believe, But either way, if say a group of SF like in that pic from the Navy and the Rangers I believe and one is carrying the ARX-160 while the others are carrying AK-47 or Maadi Misrs, they'll both be using 7.62 x 39 rounds. If they're a group such as the Sa'ka which use mostly M-4 Carbines in 5.56 x 45. they'll mostly be attached with another group that is using either SiG-556 or even the ARX-160 in NATO rounds.
So just like that pic of the two groups waiting for the trailered RIB to drop in the water are all carrying Maadi Misrs. The Team 777 training with the ARX-160 in the last pic will be able to attach to any other group because of that rifle's interchangeability.
I believe the CZ-805 is chambered for NATO cartridges while the CZ-807 which is mostly used by the EN special forces/paratroopers is chambered for 7.62 x 39 which is obviously very compatible with most of the EGY military rifles.
I think at first when we started seeing all these new and different model rifles being introduced in rather small packages, we started freaking out like wut the heck are they doing, maaan?! But then noticing how they assigned the different ones to certain groups while keeping the main workhorse as the most abundant and the other special forces rifles actually being versatile enough to keep the rounds all the same.
BTW, sorry about the long post lol, but seeing you talk about this topic a few times already and you and I are in the same state (which is friggin crazy when you think about it) and if you enjoy taking a couple rifles into the woods and setting up a bunch of different targets and have a blast blowing crap up, then let me know and we can set that up. Most of the time that's what my buddies and I do because it's much more fun than target practice routines of the range, which is also fun to see your accuracy, but not as much as shooting up a bunch of glass bottles and cans and all sort of other great stuff lol. And you're welcome to bring your own if you're licensed CCW or OCW or if you're not, you're more than welcome to use any of my collection. I have a couple of Maadi Misr from the 80s as well as a recently built MAK-90 (Chinese AK-47 with the thumbhole stock which is actually one of my favorites) and a couple of AR-15s, and M-4 Carbine as well as an M-16 and a few hunting rifles with excellent scopes. I even bought a Civil War musket lol, that thing is a blast, figuratively and literally lol! A bunch of pistols, 9mm Barettas, Glock 17 and 22, and couple of Taurus 38 special revolvers and several other types of handguns. Tons of magazines for the AKs including different types and I've stocked up on rounds in the past 10 years as the threats of changing the assault rifle laws might happen or might not because of all the school shootings as you know, so many of us saved up a bunch of loot and went out and stocked up big time on all sorts of rounds. If and when you'd feel comfortable and are interested, let's get in touch and have a blast!
