Well, has there been a contract or even a tender signed? The only news I've heard is that the Mekos were approved by the German government or congress or whomever they have there to be sold to Egypt. But there really hasn't ever been any formal announcement of a signed agreement with Egypt, has there? That's the issue I'm talking about.
So how do we know this? I think it's more of an assumption as of now since this is the latest news regarding these missiles and the Mekos. From October 2019.
Denel, Egypt in Talks on Umkhonto Deal
October 1, 2019 - by
Derek Bisaccio
Umkhonto Missiles. Source: Wikimedia Commons/
Flash 285
The Egyptian military is seeking to move forward with an acquisition of South African firm Denel’s Umkhonto, a surface-to-air missile.
Mail & Guardian, a South African newspaper, reported last week that Denel is working on a
ZAR4.5 billion ($294 million) sale of missiles to the Egyptian Navy. According to the report, Egypt is seeking to procure the Umkhonto-R, a radar-guided variant of the Umkhonto missile. The newspaper reported that Denel and Egypt are discussing the supply of 96 Umkhonto-Rs. Its report added, “The state arms company also intends to sell 32 units of an infrared variant of the Umkhonto-R.”
The proposed missile contract comes with a ZAR1.5 billion advance, which would provide crucial support to cash-strapped Denel.
According to the report, Denel said the Umkhonto contract is related to ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems vessels, a possible reference to the Meko 200. Earlier this year, Germany’s government approved an export license for at least three Meko 200s, as well as three other unspecified frigates, to the Egyptian Navy.
It had previously been assumed that Egypt would arm its frigates with surface-to-air missiles from the Aster family.
Darren Olivier, an expert on African militaries who is the director of the website African Defence Review,
noted the Umkhonto-R is still in development and has not yet made a test flight, meaning the proposed contract between Denel and Egypt involves funding for development purposes. It is not clear when the missile will be ready for serial production, but external financing from Egypt could speed the process along.
South Africa’s National Conventional Arms Control Commission (NCACC), a regulatory body, must approve the sale before it can move forward. The NCACC is obligated to consider the importing state’s human rights record when determining whether to approve a sale.
https://dsm.forecastinternational.com/wordpress/2019/10/01/denel-egypt-in-talks-on-umkhonto-deal/
If you read those two bolded sections, not only are the missiles not even ready for testing, but there's still a discrepancy on whether they will be used on the Mekos since that deal itself for the frigate is also still up in the air. Ma3lsh o3zourny ana mesh asdi a3mel argument ma3ak ya basha.
Bas el deal da mat3amalsh lessa wa7na mesh fahmeen 7aga khales 3al Mekos wella 7at ro7 wella hateegy f'Masr?!?!