Egypt sets sights on French Barracuda-class submarines

Egypt is interested in buying Barracuda-class submarines from France, French financial newspaper La Tribune reports.

French Barracuda-class nuclear-powered submarines are being built by shipbuilding company Naval Group. The company was chosen by the Australian Government on 26 April 2016 to build twelve submarines under a AU$50 billion (US$35.8 billion) contract.

However, On 16 September 2021, Australia cancelled the project and entered into a partnership with the US and UK, known as AUKUS pact, to obtain nuclear submarine technology.

Egypt has expressed interest to acquire this class of submarines and the discussion between the two parties began a year ago, according to La Tribune.

Meanwhile, the country ordered four U209 submarines from German shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS). The final vessel was delivered to the Egyptian Navy in July 2021.