CAIRO, June 2 (Reuters) – Egypt on Thursday acquired the primary of two French Mistral helicopter carriers and stated the second would arrive in September as a part of a deal signed final 12 months.

France agreed final 12 months to promote two Mistral helicopter carriers to Egypt for 950 million euros (656 million kilos) after their sale to Russia was cancelled final August.

“We now have advanced capabilities in confronting terrorism within our borders and on our shores,” Minister of Defence Sedky Sobhi stated at a handover ceremony at Saint-Nazaire, Western France.

“It increases our combat capabilities and our ability to carry out long-term missions at sea…and we are awaiting on the arrival of the second in September,” he stated.

Cairo has sought to spice up its navy energy within the face of a two-year insurgency in northern Sinai and fears that the battle in neighbouring Libya might spill over.

The Mistral is named the “Swiss army knife” of the French navy for its versatility. Equipped with missile defence and radar navigation techniques, it could retailer as much as 16 helicopters and has sufficient touchdown pads for six helicopters, in line with Egyptian state tv.

The warship, named Gamal Abdel Nasser after the second president of Egypt, is headed towards Alexandria the place it’s anticipated to reach inside weeks, state tv stated.

In April France signed separate offers value about 2 billion euros ($2.26 billion) with Egypt throughout a go to by French President Francois Hollande to Cairo.

The offers included a contract for a navy telecommunications satellite tv for pc anticipated to be constructed by France’s Airbus Space Systems et Thales Alenia Space.

Egypt final 12 months additionally acquired a French frigate as a part of a 5.2 billion euro contract for twenty-four Rafale warplanes, France’s first abroad export of the fighter jet. (Reporting by Omar Fahmy; Writing by Eric Knecht; enhancing by Ralph Boulton)

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