Special to WorldTribune.com

WASHINGTON — The United States is preparing for the completion of
F-16 multi-role fighters for Egypt.

Officials said prime contractor Lockheed Martin was advancing in its
project to assemble 20 F-16 Block 52 aircraft for Egypt. They said the first
of the advanced aircraft would be assembled in April.

“The contract would be financed with U.S. military aid to Egypt,” an official said.

On March 23, the administration of President Barack Obama approved the continuation of the F-16 project in 2012. The administration issued a waiver
contained in a new law that linked the $1.5 billion in U.S. military and
civilian aid to Cairo to progress in democracy, human rights and security
cooperation.

Officials said delivery of the first F-16s to Egypt would take place in 2012. They said L-M and the U.S. Air Force would cooperate to train Egyptian pilots to operate the aircraft.

This would mark the delivery of the first F-16s to Egypt in about a decade. The Block 52 aircraft contains advanced avionics and systems that would accommodate a range of state-of-the-art air-to-air and air-to-ground munitions.

“Lockheed Martin values the relationship established between our company and the Egyptian customer since the first F-16s were delivered in the early 1980s,” L-M spokeswoman Laura Siebert said.

The Obama waiver would also allow Egypt to co-produce 125 M1A1 Abrams
main battle tanks over the next few months. Officials said U.S. military aid
would be transferred to General Dynamics to deliver components and assemble
the MBTs in the Egyptian Tank Factory in Cairo.

“In large part, there are U.S. jobs that are reliant on the U.S.-Egypt
strong military-to-military relationship,” a senior State Department
official said on March 23.

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