Egypt has signed a contract with France to buy an observation satellite and two multi-role tanker transport (MRTT) aircraft built by Airbus, according to French newspaper La Tribune. 

Citing sources, La Tribune said that the spy satellite and the two MRTT planes were part of a bigger deal between Cairo and Paris. It will provide Egypt’s Armed Forces with modern war techniques in a deal that was set to be signed in 2016. 

Due to financial issues, Egypt delayed the €600m contract to 2021, according to Defence World.  

On Tuesday, Egypt’s Ministry of Defence announced that the two sides signed a contract to buy 30 Rafale fighter jets as part of a deal worth €5.4bn. The deal would be financed through a 10-year loan.

The Dassault Rafale is the most modern aircraft operated by the Egyptian Air Force, used alongside its fleet of modernised American F-16 fighter jets. The Rafale is a semi-stealth multirole fighter designed to conduct close air support, as well as air superiority missions, and is rumoured to have advanced radar-jamming technology.

Egypt recently received four units of a French-made long-range, mobile, 3D air defence radar system called Thales Ground Master 400 (GM400) AESA, that has a maximum range of up to 515 km.