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The days of getting tough with Egypt, a vital peace partner and on Egypt’s two French-procured Mistral-class
major non-NATO ally, may be over, says David Schenker, Taube helicopter dock vessels, and the S300VM
Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute and former Assistant surface-to-air missile defense system. The
Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs. “Washington may want Egyptian Army is also eyeing the purchase of
to pause and reconsider its options before implementing sanctions 500 Russian T-90 main battle tanks. [ REPORT ]
and aid conditions that stand little hope of achieving their intended
purpose. A wiser course may be to lower expectations, take a more In May this year, Egypt's military announced
hardheaded view of bilateral ties, and focus more narrowly on core that it had ordered 30 Rafale jets from French
interests. Egypt is no longer the regional powerhouse it once was, defence firm Dassault Aviation. The order is
but it remains a consequential actor and critical security partner.” an addition to the 2015 purchase of 24 Rafale
Russia Fills the Void jets. According to reports, Egypt is interested
Among those rooting for stronger defence ties with Egypt are U.S. in expanding it Rafale fleet to include anything
defence contractors, who have had to deal with dwindling sales between 72 and 100 units, including the upcom-
to the country over the last decade. According to the Stockholm ing F4 variant.
International Peace Research Institute, U.S. arms sales to Egypt,
which constituted 47 percent of the country’s total weapon imports Still a Significant Factor
in the 2009-2014 period, fell to 14 percent from 2015-2020. Russia Major arms sales from the U.S. to Egypt has
and France are the principal beneficiaries of the dip in market share been few and far between over the last few
suffered by U.S. companies. years, but opportunities keep cropping up to
keep U.S. contactors interested. In May last
Egypt’s growing closeness to Russia is a cause of concern for the year, the US State Department approved the
U.S. that is keen on thwarting moves by its principal adversaries foreign military sale related to the upgrade
– China and Russia – to enter the lucrative market and establish and refurbishment of 43 of Egypt’s AH-64D
ties with countries in the region. While the US2 billion purchase of Apache attack helicopters to AH-64E standard.
Su-35 fighters - 24 Su-35s are expected to be delivered by 2023 The deal, which involves Boeing and Lockheed
– prompted retaliatory action from the U.S., it is just one of the Martin, is worth $2.3 billion.
many weapons that Egypt has acquired from Russia. The Middle
Eastern country is upgrading its aging fleet of legacy Soviet MiG-21 “Egypt intends to use these refurbished AH-64
aircraft to a fourth generation MiG-29M variant. With the Egyptian helicopters to modernize its armed forces to
Air Force taking delivery of all the MiG-29 fighters it ordered. Other address the shared US-Egyptian interest in
purchases from Russia involve 46 standard Ka-52 Russian attack countering terrorist activities emanating from
helicopters for its air force, the naval version of the Ka-52 for use the Sinai Peninsula, which threaten Egyptian
and Israeli security and undermine regional
stability,” the State Department said. “This
sale will contribute to Egypt’s military goal to
update its capability while further enhancing
greater interoperability between Egypt, the US,
and other allies. Egypt will have no difficulty
sustaining these refurbished aircraft.” Egypt
has 46 AH-64Ds in service. It has a diverse
attack helicopter fleet that also includes 46
Kamov Ka-52s received from Russia, a smaller
number of Mi-24 attack helicopters, and about
60 Gazelle helicopters armed with HOT anti-
tank missiles.
In February this year, the Biden administration
announced it had approved a possible US$197
million sale of missiles to Egypt. Interestingly,
the approval of the arms sale came just days
after the Egyptian government detained family
members of a US-based Egyptian American
human rights activist. "The proposed sale will
support the Egyptian Navy's Fast Missile Craft
ships and provide significantly enhanced area
defense capabilities over Egypt's coastal areas
and approaches to the Suez Canal," the State
Department said.
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