Does Egypt Have Ballistic Missiles? Scud-B, Project T and What Is Verified

Yes. Egypt is one of only two African countries with a ballistic missile force believed to be in service today. It has operated Soviet-designed R-17E Scud-B missiles since the early 1970s, and arms-control researchers report a locally improved Scud-C type known as Project T with a range of about 450 km. Egypt does not have intercontinental, medium-range or nuclear-armed ballistic missiles. Its more ambitious Badr-2000 programme was cancelled in 1989. How many of its ageing missiles remain operational has never been published.

Photo: An Egyptian Scud missile at launch. Credit: AhmedHusseinF, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

What ballistic missiles does Egypt have?

A ballistic missile is powered only during the boost phase and then follows a mostly unpowered arc. Egypt’s force is built on the Soviet Scud family and short-range battlefield rockets. The SIPRI Arms Transfers Database records the Soviet Union delivering about 40 R-17 Elbrus (Scud-B) missiles to Egypt in 1973. In the same period it also delivered 9P113 launchers for the shorter-range Luna-M (FROG-7) rocket. The Arms Control Association’s worldwide inventory still lists Egypt as a Scud-B operator, with a range of about 300 km.

How did Egypt’s missile programme develop?

Egypt was among the first Middle Eastern states to try to build ballistic missiles. In the early 1960s, President Gamal Abdel Nasser’s government ran a programme at Factory 333 near Cairo with West German engineers. It aimed at the al-Zafar, al-Kahar and al-Raid rockets, with ranges of up to about 1,000 km. According to the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), the effort collapsed in 1966 when West German cooperation ended.

Soviet deliveries in the early 1970s gave Egypt its first operational missiles. FAS says a small number of Scuds were fired during the October 1973 war with little effect. From 1984, Egypt worked with Argentina, and later Iraq, on the solid-fuel Badr-2000, Egypt’s name for the Condor II. In September 1989, the US State Department told Congress that Egypt had ended that cooperation. The decision followed a 1988 smuggling scandal over missile-related carbon material.

Egypt then focused on extending the Scud. NTI’s missile chronology cites 2001 Arms Control Association data listing Scud-B, Project T (about 450 km, 985 kg payload) and a North Korean-supplied Scud-C as operational. The same chronology records reports of a Vector missile project. FAS reports that Egypt’s missile cooperation with North Korea was curtailed around 2005. Neither the Egyptian government nor an independent inspection has confirmed the size of the Project T or Scud-C force, so DefenceMENA treats it as reported rather than confirmed.

How many ballistic missiles does Egypt have?

No official figure exists. Estimates come from think-tank yearbooks rather than Egyptian disclosures. The Israeli INSS military balance (2016) listed 24 Scud launchers and about 100 Scud-B/C missiles, plus about 90 Project T missiles, which it described as locally produced. GlobalSecurity.org’s 2024 army equipment list gives nine Scud-B/C systems. The figures differ by method and date, so they should be read as rough estimates, not an inventory.

Does Egypt have intercontinental or hypersonic missiles?

No. There is no credible public evidence that Egypt possesses or is developing intercontinental ballistic missiles, medium-range ballistic missiles or hypersonic weapons. Its longest-range known missile is the reported 450 km Project T. NTI notes that Egypt is not a member of the Missile Technology Control Regime or the Hague Code of Conduct against ballistic missile proliferation. Egypt has signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as a non-nuclear-weapon state.

Where Egypt’s long-range strike power really sits

Egypt’s modern long-range strike capability rests on aircraft more than missiles. Its fleet of Rafale, F-16 and MiG-29M fighters carries most of that role (see Egypt’s fighter jets and the Egypt Rafale fleet). At sea, Egypt operates Harpoon and Exocet anti-ship cruise missiles. On the defensive side, Egypt runs one of Africa’s two multi-layered air defence networks, described in Which African Countries Operate Advanced Air Defence Systems.

Egypt compared with Algeria

Algeria, Egypt’s main North African peer in defence spending, chose a newer system: the Russian Iskander-E, delivered in 2017 according to SIPRI and paraded in 2024. Egypt’s Scud-based force is older and less accurate, but it has a much longer service history. See DefenceMENA’s Egypt vs Algeria military comparison and Algeria’s Missile Forces Explained.

Frequently asked questions

Does Egypt have ballistic missiles?

Yes. Egypt operates Soviet-origin Scud-B missiles and is reported to have locally developed Scud derivatives such as Project T.

What is the range of Egypt’s missiles?

Scud-B has a range of about 300 km. Project T is reported at about 450 km. No longer-range Egyptian ballistic missile has been verified.

Does Egypt have nuclear weapons?

No. Egypt is a non-nuclear-weapon state party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and has no nuclear weapons.

Did Egypt use Scud missiles in war?

Yes. FAS records that Egypt fired a small number of Scud-Bs during the October 1973 war, with little military effect.

Sources

• SIPRI Arms Transfers Database – Egypt trade register (accessed 3 November 2026)
• Arms Control Association – Worldwide Ballistic Missile Inventories
• Nuclear Threat Initiative – Egypt country profile
• NTI – Egypt missile chronology
• NTI – Design characteristics of Egypt’s ballistic missiles
• Federation of American Scientists – Egypt missile programs
• INSS Middle East Military Balance – Egypt (2016)
• GlobalSecurity.org – Egypt army equipment

Method: delivery records from SIPRI, programme history from FAS and NTI, and inventory estimates from INSS and GlobalSecurity are attributed separately because they disagree. Egypt has not published its missile holdings.

Last verified: 3 November 2026