Some shortcomings in the equipment are accepted in exchange for good overall performance. The Chinese had WS-10 engines in their infancy.
Its performance is low and its lifespan is very short, not exceeding 1,500 flight hours. As for its lifetime, things are different now. Let us assume that the engine has a lifespan of 4,000 flight hours, which is considered good, compared to 6,000 flight hours for American engines.
China moved to the higher WS-15 engines
From which the WS-19 engine is derived, and it is parallel and close to the level of American engines, so it is simply acceptable. Some people ignore an important point.
F-16 & MIRAGE-2000 fighter fleet
The large number was 260 aircraft. Therefore, the replacement process cannot be for Egypt to be under European or American pressure. The process of embargoing weapons on Egypt from the Western side to limit its military capabilities cannot be accepted by Egypt. It is a balance between performance, price, and its ability to carry out tasks. We are not talking about two fighter squadrons or limited numbers. Rather, it is the main aircraft for the Egyptian Air Force in the future, and the presence of a fighter produced locally with a license that meets national demands is important. There is no fifth generation fighter available with technology transfer and the possibility of modernization and development with flexibility, no matter what China allows. China also has its technical capacity developing. On the contrary, the Chinese sixth generation fighter. The Americans say that China has taken earlier steps. From the Americans, that is, China is parallel to the Americans in future fighter integration
Manned-Unmanned Teaming (MUM-T)
And loyal wingman
Network-centric warfare
Integrating it with national platforms in the East is easier and much less expensive than in the West
Finally, the Chinese are able to produce fifth-generation fighters easier than any other competitor. The Koreans, their fifth-generation fighter, will not be ready soon. The Turks are an unreliable platform and a project larger than their capabilities. They are counting on Saudi, Emirati, and Egyptian financing and providing economical production for the project by pre-marketing it before production, based on their previous experience in Drones, and this does not lead to trust. China has a fifth generation fighter that has been operating since 2017, and its number now exceeds 200 aircraft. Therefore, the success of their project is greater than any other country. The Russians themselves have not produced a test model of the SU-75, and therefore they cannot be relied upon.
The Chinese plane is closer to production than any other platform. We previously explained that the United States and Egypt closed the defense market to it as a result of the restrictions that Egypt did not accept. Egypt was waiting for the opportunity to get rid of them, and we now see how many air platforms in many countries prevent European platforms from generation fighters. Fourth, its price is very high, which limits purchasing it in economical or sufficient numbers, as it is difficult to obtain it quickly
We have defense requirements that must be implemented to protect Egyptian national security and Egypt’s presence in a turbulent region with all its borders on fire.