US sends out confused signals on Egypt
Egyptian SOF soldiers during urban warfare training in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. (Photo: US Army/Sgt Gregory Summers)
Withdrawal of FMF funding appears to contradict US approval of a much larger FMS deal for Egypt.
The US has cancelled $130 million in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) aid to Egypt on ‘human rights’ grounds, just days after announcing a $2.55 billion FMS package for the North African country and three weeks after Lockheed Martin gained a $102 million contract to upgrade Egyptian Air Force attack helicopters.
A halt to FMF support was on the cards since September 2021, when US Secretary of State Antony Blinken released $300 million but withheld the $130 million unless the Egyptian government addressed ‘specific human-rights related conditions’ by the end of January 2022.
In a 28 January announcement, the State Department confirmed that Cairo had failed to meet these conditions, so the $130 million will be diverted to other US national security priorities.
However, the decision lays the US open to charges of inconsistency, especially as it had approved the sale of a dozen new C-130J Super Hercules airlifters and SPS-48 air defence radar systems just a few days before.
In justifying its approval of this FMS package on 25 January, the State Department said the provision of C-130Js and SPS-48s would ‘support the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a major non-NATO ally country that continues to be an important strategic partner in the Middle East’.
More from Defence Notes
-
![Eurosatory 2026: Milrem Robotics puts forward multi-layered defence concept for NATO's eastern flank]()
Eurosatory 2026: Milrem Robotics puts forward multi-layered defence concept for NATO's eastern flank
Autonomous systems developer Milrem has evolved a model for an interoperable robotised approach to the Eastern Flank Deterrence Initiative (EFDI), showing how uncrewed systems could provide a multi-layered defence architecture in the air and on land along NATO’s eastern borders.
-
![Delays, departures and drama cloud UK defence programmes ahead of absent DIP]()
Delays, departures and drama cloud UK defence programmes ahead of absent DIP
The UK defence secretary’s departure suggests that the long-delayed Defence Investment Plan is unlikely to meet the funding demands of the armed forces, with consequences for procurement and the UK’s standing at a NATO summit weeks away.
-
![Agile, sovereign, edge-ready: rewiring defence IT for a contested decade]()
Agile, sovereign, edge-ready: rewiring defence IT for a contested decade
Today's rapidly changing security landscape means that armed forces can no longer treat their data in the same way as in the past. What are the key challenges they face, and how can industry help them?
-
![US lawmakers prepare a historic investment in stockpile replenishment in FY2027]()
US lawmakers prepare a historic investment in stockpile replenishment in FY2027
The House Armed Services Committee recently released the Chairman’s NDAA FY2027 markup, which supports the Pentagon’s request for nearly $90 billion for long-range missiles, air defence interceptors, precision-guided munitions and industrial baseline items.
