Israel left India and Egypt held hands

Defense Minister Rajnath Singh has reached the capital Cairo to take forward the defense ties between India and Egypt. He will be in Cairo for three days. Defense relations between India and Egypt are not today but five decades old. This is when the Indian Air Force (IAF) team went to Cairo in the 1960s. This team had arrived here for the purpose of important technology for fighter jets. Tejas is not India’s first indigenous jet. The Indian Air Force had a fighter jet named Marut which was no less than a dream. Israel’s Air Force broke that dream even before this fighter jet and Egypt could help India for the future.

what happened 55 years ago
In 1967, the war between Arabs and Israel continued. In this war, four Egyptian Mirage IIIs, two bombers, three MiG 17s were kept ready to attack Israel. On June 5, 1967, the Egyptian Air Force suffered heavy losses due to the Israeli Air Force officer Jacob Yak Nevo. Indian Air Force Officer Group Captain Kapil Bhargava witnessed the entire incident. He was accompanied by technicians of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) at that time.

Group Captain Bhargava was involved in Egypt’s efforts to develop the German-designed jet Helwan HA300. Financial help was being given from India in making this jet. India hoped that the engine of this jet could also be used in the supersonic HF-24 Marut. After this incident, that dream of India and Egypt was broken and it was broken by the Israeli Air Force. The then President of Egypt, Jamal Abdul Nasser, decided that his army did not have the right technology. In such a situation, he thought of taking help of the Soviet Union.
what happened with that plan
The plan did not proceed in the way that India had thought at that time. But after some time the problems went away. After this, Group Captain Bhargava made the first flight in Helwan in October 1964. After this, the war continued for one year and six days. Engineers who worked on the E300 engine were targeted by Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad. Those who survived ran away.

This was followed by four prototype E300 engines. They were put through the test for several hours. Some air testing was also done. As the project progressed, India understood that Egypt did not want to buy the Maruts. In the end, when Bhargava’s patience ran out and the money ran out, he ended the project in 1969 itself.

Egypt to buy Tejas
When Rajnath Singh has reached Cairo after 55 years, it is believed that he can resume the same cooperation under which Egypt and India will cooperate in developing jet engine technology. Egypt, on the other hand, may offer to buy 70 units of India-made Light Combat Aircraft Tejas. Like the Indian Air Force, the Egyptian Air Force also flies Rafale. But it needs smaller and less complex fighter aircraft to strengthen its military and it will also prove beneficial for its pilots.

According to sources in the Indian government, there has been an offer to set up a production line in Egypt. If the deal goes right, there will be a production line in Egypt. Egypt, on the other hand, is also interested in India-made missile systems, advanced light helicopters and light combat helicopters. When Rajnath Singh talks to his counterpart General Mohammad Zaki in Cairo, new opportunities will also be discussed. Their purpose is to increase military connectivity between the two countries and increase mutual cooperation between defense industries. Malaysia breaks India’s heart, will buy South Korea’s F-50 jet in place of LCA Tejas, why is Egypt important
Egypt was the world’s largest importer after Saudi Arabia in 2016-2020. India accounts for only 2% of the global arms market. This figure is even less than Brazil and the Czech Republic. India and Egypt were close partners in the 1950s and 1960s, but even after this, due to the politics of the region, the relationship between the two did not make much progress.

In 1973, five years after the war, Egypt became the first country in the world to sign a peace agreement with Israel. On the other hand India’s relations with the Western Soviet Union were getting stronger. At present, Indian trade of about $ 200 billion is done every year through the Suez Canal. In such a situation, India is certainly interested in the security interests of Egypt. This visit of Defense Minister Rajnath Singh can witness many special moments.