US lines up pair of FMS deals for Egypt

The US State Department has approved two potential FMS deals for Egypt with a combined value of $2.55 billion.

In one proposed sale, worth $2.2 billion with Lockheed Martin as prime contractor, Egypt has requested 12 C-130J Super Hercules aircraft, each of which would be delivered equipped with four Rolls Royce AE-2100D turboprop engines.

Other equipment would include 12 spare AE-2100Ds; 30 embedded secure GPS/INS devices (including six spares); and four Multifunctional Information Distribution System – Low Volume Terminal (MIDS-LVT) Block Upgrade Two systems plus three spares.

The new Super Hercules aircraft for Egypt would also be equipped with AN/APX-119 IFF transponders; AN/AAR-47 missile warning systems; AN/ALE-47 countermeasures dispensers; AN/ALR-56M radar warning receivers; Star SAFIRE 380 high-definition gyro-stabilised EO/IR turrets; plus secure communications, cryptographic equipment, and GPS-aided precision navigation equipment.

Egypt would use the new aircraft for humanitarian aid, military airlift, border patrol and maritime surveillance missions, the State Department noted in a 25 January announcement.

Lockheed Martin would provide contractor engineering, technical, and logistics support services.

Shephard Defence Insight notes that Egypt already operates a fleet of 19 C-130Hs and the State Department expects the country to have ‘no difficulty [in] absorbing these aircraft and services into its armed forces’.

The other planned FMS for Egypt, worth $355 million, would see L3Harris Technologies provide SPS-48 air defence radar systems and associated replacement parts, communication systems, plus logistical and engineering support.

Egypt already operates an undisclosed number of SPS-48 systems for land-based air surveillance.