Have the Egyptians even tried to get those capabilities? I mean, why would they buy a fleet of 220 F-16s knowing fully well they're incapable handicapped and then also go for Su-35s and Rafales.
Because the first acquisition of the F-16 to Egypt was way back in the 1980's. It had nothing to do with current inventory or military acquisitions and when it started, it was under the Peace Vector program of military aid to try and stay in the game as much as possible. So it was either get the F-16s and keep trying to acquire the appropriate ammunitions for them as the orders kept happening but they kept being refused, or not have any 4th gen fighters. Finally Sisi's presidency is doing something about it 30 years later, going for Rafales and MiG-35s and Su-35s all with BVR capabilities including hopefully the Meteor.
So back then, if you were in our position, would you refuse the F-16 just because of BVR missiles? When they did eventually offer the modernized AIM-7P Sparrow semi active BVR missile so it's not completely without some form of that capability. But BVR is not the end all be all like many here seem to think. Having the 4th largest fleet of F-16s after the US, Israel, and Turkey (not by much BTW to the last member) with all other ordinances is much better than nothing, don't you think?
It doesn't add up that the US would deny Egypt the capabilities but allow acquisitions of Su-35s and Rafales... or are those platforms less capable as well?
Once Sisi became president, he's shown that the crying and lobbying by Israel to the US to not provide Egypt with the AIM-120 is finished and he's moving on. He requested the F-35 knowing quite well that the US would refuse it so it gave him more ammunition to go after other choices such as the Rafale & Su-35SE.
Here's the funny thing that destroys the silly notion of the magic button or computer hack that disables jets. If that was the case, why are they so freaked out about providing the missiles then?
Hopefully Russia will provide as much as it can under ITAR including the R-27ER, the RVV-AE (which I believe has already been supplied with the MiG-35s) and possibly the R-37M.
The problem is that the US asked Egypt to cancel the deal and that they would substitute it with F-15s but Egypt declined, citing the Su-35SE is a much better platform than the F-15 or at least the one the US would offer Egypt which certainly wouldn't have been the EX model with the AIM-120C-7 and AIM-9X. That would've been the only way Egypt would've agreed to switch but there is also a possibility that it might not have, simply because it wants to move away from the grip of the US. Something that needed to be done a long time ago.
,d don't take them serious. Some General visits after that some news site come with stories like this. Like that story about Pakistan cruise missiles.
