Egypt to sign for further 20 F-16s but desires Fifth-Gen

The US Congress has already approved the sale of up to 24 F-16s as part of a programme called Peace Vector VII. However, sources say that Egypt’s current demands are for 20 F-16s rather than the full 24.  

The Egyptian deal was confirmed by Rick Groesch, Lockheed's regional vice president for Middle East business development, saying F-16 orders are normally followed by deliveries starting 36 months later, but the final negotiations with Egypt include discussions for accelerating the delivery schedule.  

Egypt has bought some 220 F-16s since the early 1980s. There had been doubts that US policy would allow further sales but President Barack Obama's speech on Middle East policy in May was held in Cairo, elevating the US relationship with Egypt in regional issues.   

The Egypt deal follows relatively recent contracts signed by Oman and the United Arab Emirates for new F-16s. The UAE order introduced the Block 60 version. Oman's purchase, meanwhile, ushered in the Harpoon anti-ship missile for carriage by the F-16 fleet.  

According to Flightglobal, Lockheed currently has 76 F-16s in the order backlog with deliveries scheduled through 2012. Signing the deal with Egypt was critical to avoid a costly gap on Lockheed's production line.  

Lockheed also remains in talks with Iraq and Qatar in the region for new F-16 sales. Other countries, such as Oman and the UAE, have discussed follow-on F-16 buys with Lockheed, Groesch said.  

Middle East militaries are keen to move beyond fourth-generation fighters such as the F-16 and at the recent Air Chiefs conference in Dubai a top UAE military officer said he hoped his country would have a fifth-generation fighter within a couple years.  

The US government has not previously identified any country in the Middle East besides Israel as a sales target for the Lockheeed F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, although briefings dating back to 2002 listed the region in long-term sales projections.  

Groesch confirms that interest in the Middle East for the F-35 is real. "All the customers I talk to in the Gulf want to fly the F- 35 ," he said "