Cairo had previously shown interest in the F-35 fighter, so the US decided to seek Egypt to cancel purchases of Russian aircraft "in exchange for the opportunity to buy American ones," writes MWM. However, the defense of the country can only lose from this.
A June study by the US Congress considers offering the Egyptian Ministry of Defense more advanced fighter classes if Cairo refrains from acquiring Russian counterparts. At the end of 2018, Egypt placed orders for Russian Su-35S heavy fighters, for which about two dozen airframes have already been built. The report claims that Cairo has previously expressed interest in the F-35 stealth fighter, so it makes sense to ensure that Egypt cancels the purchase of Russian aircraft "in exchange for the opportunity to buy American ones." The sale of the fifth generation F-35 is considered controversial for a number of reasons, but there are alternatives: back in the 1970s, Egypt wanted to acquire the F-15. Its modernized versions are by far the oldest in production throughout the world.
There are enough problems with the sale of Egyptian F-35s: neighboring Turkey was excluded from the program, and the United Arab Emirates was refused due to the fact that they use Huawei infrastructure in their telecommunications network. Thus, Israel remains the sole operator of the F-35 in the Middle East. At the same time, many large users of the Huawei 5G infrastructure received permission to purchase a fighter - Germany was the latest in a row. Since Egypt is unlikely to abandon its plans to modernize telecommunications, the sale of aircraft without further concessions, except for the rejection of the Su-35, will cause controversy. Currently, the Egyptian Air Force operates about 200 F-16s - the direct predecessors of the fourth generation F-35. At the same time, the Egyptian fleet of F-16s is called the “worst in the world” due to severely degraded avionics and a lack of viable weapons to engage targets beyond visual range. If Egypt is allowed to buy F-35s or F-15s, they will most likely also be delivered in a greatly simplified form, as a result of which the Egyptian defense will be in a position only slightly better than today. Many believe that this is why Israel, Egypt's neighbor and its longtime a military rival allegedly begging Washington to agree to sell Cairo F-15s: this will ensure that Israeli air superiority on the west coast will remain unshakable - in contrast to the situation if Egypt receives Su-35s.
Another major point
why Cairo might lean towards Russian fighters is the strict US control over the
use of its equipment, including the bases where fighters can be deployed, as
well as America's previous practice of reducing the supply of spare parts to
allies in the Muslim world from Pakistan and Indonesia to Egypt itself in 2013.
Finally, the lack of complete independence of the F-35 operators should also be
taken into account: for example, the Norwegian military reports that the
fighters are "watching" them. Three squadrons of Russian MiG-29M
medium fighters ordered in 2015 are the only ones in Egypt to date equipped
with relatively powerful air-to-air missiles and anti-ship missiles.
Attractiveness to Russian fighters is added by American restrictions, as
evidenced by the unique status of the MiG-29M in the Egyptian navy, however,
Western political pressure and threats of economic sanctions from Washington
are holding back further acquisitions from Russia. Thus, the future of the
modernization of the Egyptian fighter fleet remains very uncertain.
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