On his official visit to Egypt, Pakistan’s Minister of Defence Production (MoDP) Rana Tanveer Hussain met with Egypt’s President, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, and was informed that Cairo was interested in collaborating with Pakistan in defence production initiatives (Associated Press of Pakistan).
The state-owned news agency Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) notes that the meeting called “for collaboration in joint production of certain defence equipment … to [establish] expert level delegations to work out modalities for further cooperation.”
APP added that Egypt is also interested in the JF-17 Thunder multi-role fighter, which is co-produced by Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (CAIG) and Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC).
Notes & Comments:
Egypt had expressed apparent interest in the JF-17 in earlier years, but efforts to secure in that direction did not pan out. It is unclear if Cairo’s apparent interest at this stage is concrete enough for a sale, but it is likely that PAC and CAIG will pursue the opportunity considering its potential in generating value and attention towards the fighter platform. Egypt could be contemplating the JF-17 on the grounds of securing a low-cost and openly configurable platform, one that it can support domestically (via various transfer-of-technology elements) and freely arm in terms of modern air-to-air and air-to-surface munitions.