France’s most senior military commander has arrived in Egypt just days after Chinese J-16 fighter jets trained against French-made Rafales, a development that has drawn NATO attention as Cairo prepares to host Chinese President Xi Jinping during his upcoming Africa visit.
Gen Fabien Mandon, Chief of the French Defence Staff, travelled to Cairo on August 24 at the head of a senior military delegation and met Egypt’s Defence Minister Lt Gen Ashraf Salem Zaher and Chief of Staff Lt Gen Ahmed Khalifa, according to Ahram Online.
The talks covered issues of mutual interest and ways to deepen cooperation across several military fields.
Mandon’s visit came a day after reports confirmed that Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force J-16 fighters had conducted medium- and close-range combat training against Egyptian Rafales during the Eagles of Civilisation 2026 exercises.
China deployed at least six J-16 fighters to Egypt for the drills, according to open-source tracking and imagery.
