One of the French presidents has a famous saying: The best way to deal with Americans is to ignore them, they will come to you.
When the Americans find themselves in Egyptian negotiations to purchase new transport aircraft, whether from Brazil or China, we find them suddenly offering Egypt two C-130J-30 aircraft, In general, Egypt has demands to purchase new transport aircraft, especially with the expansion of international relief operations it is carrying out, as well as the new establishment of the Egyptian army in Africa and the expansion of the arms trade. The deal for 12 C-130J aircraft is to replace old DHC-5D aircraft that Egypt obtained from Canada in 1984.
Egypt getting first 2 super hercules tankers, lockheed martin says
The new tankers are expected to replace the older fleet of 24 C-130H aircraft that Cairo currently operates.
BEIRUT — The Egyptian armed forces are moving forward with procurement of the nation’s first two C-130J-30 Super Hercules tactical airlifters from Lockheed Martin, becoming the 23rd operator of the aircraft, according to a company
announcement today.
“Welcoming Egypt to the C-130J Super Hercules global fleet is an honor that truly represents the longstanding partnership between our two nations and with Lockheed Martin,” said Rod McLean, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin’s Air Mobility and Maritime Missions line of business, in a statement. “With these new C-130J-30s, the Egyptian Air Force’s tactical airlift presence will deliver unmatched capabilities and aligned force amplification to serve Egypt, North Africa and the world.”
In 2022 the US government
approved a Foreign Military Sale of 12 aircraft in a deal that at the time was estimated worth a total of $2.2 billion. Today, Tim German, capture director at Lockheed Martin’s Aeronautics division, said that the company “expects” that 10 additional aircraft will be delivered after the first two as part of a “staggered order.” An exhibition publication reported the first two will be delivered by 2026, a detail Lockheed did not confirm.
The head of Egypt’s air force apparently made the announcement during a stop at Lockheed’s booth at Egypt’s first
air show. The Ministry of Defense did not immediately respond to Breaking Defense’s off-hours request for additional comment.
The C-130J is characterized by
larger cruise speed and higher altitude than the older tanker series, in addition to taking off and landing at shorter distances, and larger cargo space for transport, according to the US Air Force.
The announcement, comes as
China and Russia compete for the Middle East and North Africa region’s defense market, with a focus on Egypt given its long and at times controversial relationship with Washington.
“Egypt’s position [is] as a major non-NATO ally and the largest Arab military with extensive equipment needs, especially as Cairo prepares to
deploy forces in Somalia,” Mohammed Soliman, strategic adviser at McLarty Associates and director at the Middle East institute, previously told Breaking Defense.
When it comes to a common operating picture, not everyone needs the same equipment. What they need is the same situational awareness.
The new tankers are expected to replace the older fleet of 24 C-130H aircraft that Egypt currently operates. The C-130H “has a significant presence in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region, supporting military, peacekeeping, humanitarian and natural disaster response mission requirements,” according to Lockheed’s statement. “Egypt joins seven MENA operators that have chosen the C-130J as a preferred medium-sized tactical airlifter and tanker.”
https://breakingdefense.com/2024/09...-super-hercules-tankers-lockheed-martin-says/
There was information previously indicating that the aircraft would be delivered starting in 2026, and that suddenly changed.
