Egyptian Armed Forces

[Gomig-21]

Courtesy of @hembo on the Indian Air Force thread. Great stuff.

Indian Air Force News & Discussions

From Grp Cpt HVT's Twitter..pic credit Sanjay Simha.. Dragons of Gir! These are DARIN 3 Jaguars from No.6 'Dragons' squadron

pdf.defence.pk

Bonds of friendship in the skies over Egypt. Snippets from the #ExerciseBrightStar, where the #IAF IL-78 AAR aircraft refueled aircraft from the Egyptian Air Force.

 

[The SC]

For the first time, the Egyptian army expresses its solidarity with the Turkish army on the victory anniversary

2023-09-01

High-ranking Egyptian military delegations participated in the celebrations marking the 101st anniversary of Turkey's victory under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, in the Turkish capital, Ankara.

The ceremonies were attended by the Egyptian Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Major General Mustafa El-Sherbiny, the Egyptian Deputy Minister of Defense, Major General Abdel Nasser, and the head of the Department of Attachments at the Ministry of Defense, Brigadier General Walaa Baybars.

During the ceremony, Major General Mustafa El-Sherbiny delivered a speech in which he expressed Egypt's appreciation for Turkey and its army, and emphasized the close relations between the two countries.

El-Sherbiny said that Egypt participates in these celebrations as an expression of its solidarity with Turkey and its army on this historic day, and that Turkey's victory in 1922 was a victory for truth and justice, and contributed to the liberation of peoples from colonialism.

Major General El-Sherbiny indicated that Egypt's participation in the celebrations comes within the framework of its keenness to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries.

This is the first time that Egypt participates in the anniversary celebrations of the Turkish victory.

This Egyptian position is an affirmation of the depth of relations between the two countries, and the desire to enhance military and security cooperation between them.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1697158032545689667

 

[Gomig-21]

@BON PLAN , here's that closeup I was of the EAF's Mirage 2000 Greek Cockpit avionics upgrade with the HDD 55s I was telling you about. Just found it. Made by Miltech Hellas of Greece. A digital compliment/replacement to the 2K's analog display.

 

[The SC]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1698700351774552204

 

[Gomig-21]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1698700351774552204

Must be emphasizing combined arms support in this year's BS. I never knew the EAF was interested in this AC, but it makes sense with how the military puts a huge emphasis on CAS and training in it.

 

[The SC]

Must be emphasizing combined arms support in this year's BS. I never knew the EAF was interested in this AC, but it makes sense with how the military puts a huge emphasis on CAS and training in it.

It is just to exercise with it.. no interest really.. and the US said many many times the A-10 Thunderbolt was not for sale.. confirmed by its non-existence with any US ally!

https://twitter.com/x/status/1698082808101474307

 

[Gomig-21]

It is just to exercise with it.. no interest really.. and the US said many many times the A-10 Thunderbolt was not for sale.. confirmed by its non-existence with any US ally!

I was referring to back in the 80's or 90's, not now, bro. According to @sami_1 in one of his super detailed posts, he mentioned that along with the F-15C & E Strike Eagle, the EAF had also requested the A-10 and were denied. Obviously we all knew about the F-15 but I never knew about the Warthog.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1698082808101474307

This is exactly why they should have stuck with the Su-35s and played it out with the US because what's the difference now if they're interested in the Su-57? If they try acquiring it, they'll go through the same process again so might as well have stuck with the Su-35s.

 

[The SC]

This is exactly why they should have stuck with the Su-35s and played it out with the US because what's the difference now if they're interested in the Su-57? If they try acquiring it, they'll go through the same process again so might as well have stuck with the Su-35s.

It will be even better to see the EAF replacing the SU-35s deal with the SU-57s one..!!!

 

[Gomig-21]

 

[Gomig-21]

It is just to exercise with it.. no interest really.. and the US said many many times the A-10 Thunderbolt was not for sale.. confirmed by its non-existence with any US ally!

Habib alby, I'm sorry the misunderstanding was on my part. The way I worded the EAF's interest in the A-10 made it sound like the interest came now during this Bright Star deployment of US Warthogs in Egypt. I should've been more specific right off the bat and mentioned the interest was way back in the 90s I believe, maybe even in the late 80s but I think it was born out of the A-10s success in the Gulf War. I'll make a better effort to be more specific next time.

Speaking of Bright Star '23, Hellenic, USAF and EAF F-16s training on aerial refueling qualifications from US KC-10 Extender over the Mediterranean. Looks like the EAF might be using its very old but upgraded F-16B in these pics.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1699005985833033969

 

[Gomig-21]

They must be dying of heat exhaustion in those uniforms, oooof A'3ouzubilah.

 

[Gomig-21]

@MirageBlue @Faceless @indushek @hembo

Indian Air Force at Cairo West airport I believe with their MiG-29UPGs getting ready for some action. Would love to see if there are any interactions with the Pakistani Air Force and their JF-17s. I'm guessing probably not but you never know.

Men at work. Our technicians who work long hours to prepare aircraft for #ExBrightStar 23 are truly our unsung heroes.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1698994225034256505

 

[indushek]

@MirageBlue @Faceless @indushek @hembo

Indian Air Force at Cairo West airport I believe with their MiG-29UPGs getting ready for some action. Would love to see if there are any interactions with the Pakistani Air Force and their JF-17s. I'm guessing probably not but you never know.

Men at work. Our technicians who work long hours to prepare aircraft for #ExBrightStar 23 are truly our unsung heroes.

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https://twitter.com/x/status/1698994225034256505

Lovely pictures thanks, could be interesting to see if PAF and IAF have any interaction in your country. Please keep us posted kindly, if any such news is there.

 

[Gomig-21]

Awesome video of EAF F-16s air to air refueling with US KC-10. You can tell they're having fun from the reaction of the back-seater and the boom operator. Unless the backseat fella is yelling at the pilot with those hand gestures loool.

This is much harder with the spine connection than the probe & drogue. They have to come in to the right or left of the boom and super slowly so they don't accidentally hit the boom with the glass bubble canopy and then slide over to center on the boom. Good stuff.

Put it on full screan with volume up and enjoy. We don't get to see this very often.

 

[MirageBlue]

Makes sense, for sure. Business is business and it has to be of value for the supplier and not just the buyer. It's the way economics have worked since the dawn of time and I totally see 20 aircraft as a small deal, even if it's the first export.

BTW, the Tejas is not that cheap, right? Looking it up quickly it seems to be around $64 million a piece. That's pretty much up there with some of the other 4+ gen fighters. I think that number might need to be a bit more flexible for the EAF and might be the reason why they're only looking for 20 to start with. I do hope this works out since IMO, the Tejas is the best option of the 3. I'm sure if the order is much larger, that number would go down.



That's good, but ASRAAM? Not sure the US would go for that TBH. Having China as a friendly and having the US as a long-time ally has had its pluses but also its minuses. The main reason the US has tagged Egypt as a multiple infraction-ed member is because supposedly in the 1980s, the Chinese were invited to inspect one of the EAF's F-16s. Found out about from US personnel at the time and I remember Hillary freaking out about it and stirring up the pot in front of congress to cut military aid. If it's a true story, that was super stupid of the EAF to get caught! And multiple times, to boot!

A big reason for the signing of CISMOA that would supposedly clear the way for the AMRAAMs as well as JDAMs (only laser-guided ordinances were allowed) but even after signing it, they're still not allowing the missiles because they simply don't trust that the Chinese will have a birthday party with them lol. I don't think that India has signed the CISMOA yet?

I think the same case might be with the PL-15E. China might not want to supply the EAF with them for fear that the US will put pressure on Egypt to show them the missiles and help the US develop ways to defeat it. Maybe @Han Patriot or other Chinese members can give us more insight as to whether that's true if the Chinese would or would not supply those missiles. I know Pakistan uses the PL-15 and China has no issues with them, of course. And they'll probably get the PL-15E as soon as it's ready.

There are benefits to being neutral and benefiting from both sides of the superpower spectrum, but there are downsides as well. Do you think India would have any similar issues supplying the ASTRA, considering Egypt's relationship with not only the US, but with China?

The base price of the Tejas Mk1A is pegged at ~USD 42-45 million. However, each deal comes with other stuff added on, spare engines, spare radars, spare HMDS, spare this that..plus ground support equipment, maintenance tools and jigs, desktop training devices, simulators, etc. All of that adds to the cost. Plus a Performance Based Logistics type agreement where the OEM guarantees some % of availability for the fleet.

For that you get a fighter equipped with AESA radar, has 3500 kg of payload and a US engine that is very reliable and gives good availability. For e.g. during exercises, the Tejas Mk1 has shown the ability to generate up to 6 sorties a day!

And now that the IAF has gotten around to ordering another 90-100 Tejas Mk1As, the IAF's fleet alone will be nearly 223 Tejas M1kAs and trainers, given the initial 40 will be upgraded for sure. That assures availability of spares for a long time to come.

ASRAAM is to be built in India by MBDA as far as I know (locally designated NG-CCM). If ASRAAM can't be supplied to Egypt for any reason, then the R-73E is the option, though it is getting long in the tooth. I don't know how US could influence in this matter since ASRAAM is built by MBDA. MBDA did sell the MICA IR and EM to EAF with their Rafale fleet didn't it?

Friendship with China is a problem for India since they are the primary threat as far as we are concerned. There would have to be some sort of agreement to not share any data related to the Tejas Mk1A or Astra or Uttam AESA with them, but I'm sure that has already been thought of at the Indian MoD and IAF before offering the Tejas to Egypt.