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Egypt signs contract to purchase 24 F-16s
August 24, 1999 (by
Lieven Dewitte) -
The U.S. Department of Defense has announced the award of a contract signed by Egypt to Lockheed Martin for 24 F-16C/D aircraft. The award follows a Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LoA) signed in June.
The total estimated value of the program is approximately $1 billion. This includes the aircraft, mission equipment, support equipment, spare parts, training, facilities upgrades and other associated items. Value to Lockheed Martin is approximately $324 million.
The aircraft will be block 40 F-16C/Ds, the same version as the last three orders from Egypt. This commonality provides advantages in logistics, training and facility costs. The mix will be 12 single-seat F-16Cs and 12 two-seat F-16Ds. The new aircraft will include provisions for an advanced identification friend or foe (AIFF) set, AGM-84 Harpoon antiship missile capability, the ALR-56M radar warning receiver and the ALE-47 chaff/flare dispenser. The AIFF and Harpoon capability will also be retrofit on all existing Egyptian Block 40 F-16s.
Production deliveries of the new aircraft will begin in early 2001 and continue for about 15 months. This will be the sixth time Egypt has ordered F-16s. Deliveries for the fifth order began in May, one month ahead of schedule. Worldwide, the Egyptian order will be the 39th repeat purchase of new F-16s by 14 countries. In addition, four countries have acquired F-16s from the U.S. Air Force inventory.
Egypt is one of the four countries that selected the F-16 for its front line fighter in 1999. Both Greece and Israel chose the F-16 over the F-15 in intense competitions, and New Zealand opted to purchase inventory F-16s from the U.S. Government. The United Arab Emirates, which chose the F-16 over the Eurofighter last year, is reported to be in the final stages of negotiations with the United States Government. The United States Air Force has also indicated that it plans to purchase 30 additional F-16s over the next three years.
The aircraft will be block 40 F-16C/Ds, the same version as the last three orders from Egypt. This commonality provides advantages in logistics, training and facility costs. The mix will be 12 single-seat F-16Cs and 12 two-seat F-16Ds. The new aircraft will include provisions for an advanced identification friend or foe (AIFF) set, AGM-84 Harpoon antiship missile capability, the ALR-56M radar warning receiver and the ALE-47 chaff/flare dispenser. The AIFF and Harpoon capability will also be retrofit on all existing Egyptian Block 40 F-16s.
Production deliveries of the new aircraft will begin in early 2001 and continue for about 15 months. This will be the sixth time Egypt has ordered F-16s. Deliveries for the fifth order began in May, one month ahead of schedule. Worldwide, the Egyptian order will be the 39th repeat purchase of new F-16s by 14 countries. In addition, four countries have acquired F-16s from the U.S. Air Force inventory.
Egypt is one of the four countries that selected the F-16 for its front line fighter in 1999. Both Greece and Israel chose the F-16 over the F-15 in intense competitions, and New Zealand opted to purchase inventory F-16s from the U.S. Government. The United Arab Emirates, which chose the F-16 over the Eurofighter last year, is reported to be in the final stages of negotiations with the United States Government. The United States Air Force has also indicated that it plans to purchase 30 additional F-16s over the next three years.
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- Egypt signs agreement for 24 more F-16s (1999-06-02)
- Egypt to buy 24 F-16 Block 40s (1999-03-10)
- Egypt nears signing deal for 24 F-16s (1999-02-25)
- F-16 Fighting Falcon news archive
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