Page 10 - ADT NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2021 Online Magazine
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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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