IMAGE: Kongsberg
The United States State Department has approved the potential sale of NASAMS (National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System) package worth $4.67bn to Egypt.
In a statement on July 24, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said that it had agreed to a “possible Foreign Military Sale” of the package, including 100 AMRAAM-ER (Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile-Extended Range) missiles, 100 AIM-120C-8 AMRAAMs, 600 AIM-9X Sidewinder Block II missiles, four AN/MPQ-64F1 Sentinel radar systems, among other equipment.
The NASAMS was jointly developed by Norwegian Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace and American Raytheon to defend against a wide range of aerial threats, including cruise missiles, drones, helicopters and fighter jets.
U.S. government employees and contractors will also provide engineering, technical and logistics support services to the Egyptian military as part of the potential deal.
“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy goals and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a major non-NATO ally that is a force for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East,” the DSCA said, referring to Egypt.
The prime contractor will be a U.S. multinational aerospace and defence conglomerate, RTX Corporation, located in the state of Massachusetts.
The defence agency said that it had already “delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale” to Egypt.
The AN/MPQ-64F1, the heart of the NASAMS system, has a detection range of 120 kilometers with the ability to track 60 targets simultaneously.
The NASAMS can engage aerial targets with a range of 30 kilometers using AMRAAM active radar guided missiles. The AMRAAM-ER, which was designed specifically for NASAMS and combines elements of the RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) and newer versions of the AMRAAM, is reported to have exactly double the range.
Meanwhile, the AIM-9X infrared homing missile is used to provide air defense on a much shorter range, reportedly around 12 kilometers.
The deal could mark the first time Egypt was able to purchase AMRAAM missiles from the U.S.. Despite operating one of the largest F-16 fleets in the world, the Egyptian Air Force (EAF) was denied access to the missile for decades.
The Egyptian Air Force has always relied on the older AIM-7 Sparrow, with semi-active radar homing, for its medium-range air-to-air missiles needs.
There is no requirement for a special AMRAAM variant or major modifications to existing missiles when used in NASAMS. Thus, the missiles intended for the air defense system, once procured, could find their way onto EAF’s F-16s.
When launched from air, the AIM-120C-8 version has a range of at least 90 kilometers. That’s 20 kilometers more than the latest versions of the AIM-7. Adding to the advantage is the fire-and-forget feature provided by the AMRAAM active radar seeker.
While the purchase of AMRAAM missiles could boost the capabilities of the EAF, the NASAMS didn’t perform all that well in Ukraine where multiple systems were destroyed by the Russian military. Some of the systems were even targeted with drones that they failed to detect.
All in all, Egypt appears to be working to reinforce its air defense capabilities on multiple fronts. Just recently it was reported that the country purchased the HQ-9 long-range air defense system from China, a derivative of the Russian S-300.
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considering the massive us aid given to control egypts government it is no suprise that american taxpayers will foot the bill
who is el-sissy going to use these against? libya? he surely won’t use them to defend from israel even if his live or egyptians lives depended on it. egypt’s defense expending is pointless, they just enrich the military industrial complex . egypt can’t use their military without direct permission from israel and their us puppets.
the middle east is the eighth wonder of the world. no matter how i try i always wonder what is going on the middle east