Despite the coup that unseated President Moursi, the US still plans to send four further F-16 Fighting Falcon jets to Egypt under a 2010 contract to supply 20 of the aircraft.
General Dynamics delivered an initial batch of eight of the fighters earlier in 2013, the current delivery of four is due in August and a further four are due later in 2013, to supplement Egypt’s fleet of more than 220 F-16s received since 1980.
The US government is currently reviewing whether the overthrow of the Moursi regime constitutes a coup, which would oblige the US to freeze aid to Egypt.
The US considers Egypt a valuable ally in the Middle East and provides the country with an estimated US$1.3 billion in military aid each year.
This article was first published on the Strategic Defence Intelligence website. For more information, please click here.
