F-16s for Egypt stirs anger in Congress

The delivery of four Lockheed Martin F-16 strike jets to Egypt has stirred congressional ire as Egypt's pro-democracy revolution hangs in the balance, with Islamists seeking to tighten their grip on power.

The jets, which reached Egypt Sunday, are the first of 20 Block 52 F-16s due to be delivered this year under a $1.3 billion a year U.S. military aid program signed by the regime of President Hosni Mubarak, a key U.S. ally who was swept from power in February 2011.

Amid a new wave of political upheaval, this time against Mubarak's Islamist successor, Mohamed Morsi, who's viewed with deep suspicion by the Americans, Republican lawmakers have sought to have the F-16 deliveries blocked.

"I think it's a blunder of the first proportion to send sophisticated weapons to a country that's allowed a mob to attack our embassy and to burn our flag," U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said on the Senate floor last week.

The aircraft scheduled for delivery in 2013 are 16 F-16Cs and four F-16Ds. These make up a U.S. Foreign Military Sales program known as Peace Vector VII signed in December 2009 that will raise Egypt's inventory of the Lockheed Martin jets to 240.

The arms program is part of a major U.S. effort to modernize Egypt's armed forces and phase out Soviet-era weapons systems. It began after Egypt became the first Arab state to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1979.

U.S. gift of F-16 fighters headed to Egypt, despite Morsi's harsh rhetoric

Four F-16 fighter jets left the U.S. this morning, bound for Egypt as part of a foreign aid package critics say should have been scrapped when the nation elected a president who has called President Obama a liar and urged that hatred of Jews be instilled in children.
A source who works on the Naval Air Force Base in Dallas confirmed the departure of the state-of-the-art fighter planes to FoxNews.com. Sixteen F-16s and 200 Abrams tanks are to be given to the Egyptian government before the end of the year under a foreign aid deal signed in 2010 with then-Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, a longtime U.S. ally..
Critics, including several in Congress, say it doesn't make sense to follow through with the package, given that new Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, elected last summer, has given decidedly mixed signals about relations with the U.S. While he has toned down his rhetoric since his election, in 2010 - the same year the aid package was struck - Morsi attacked Obama for supporting Israel.
“One American president after another — and most recently, that Obama — talks about American guarantees for the safety of the Zionists in Palestine," Morsi, then a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, said on Egyptian television in reaction to Obama's 2009 speech in Cairo. "[Obama] was very clear when he uttered his empty words on the land of Egypt. He uttered many lies, of which he couldn’t have fulfilled a single word, even if he were sincere — which he is not.”
In the comments translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute, Morsi went on to urge that children be taught to hate Jews.

Egypt and Tunisia opposed to the French operation in Mali

Egyptian and Tunisian authorities, linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, did not hesitate to show their opposition to the French military intervention in Mali.

Support their fundamentalist supporters rather than the fight against terrorism led by France. Egyptian and Tunisian authorities, linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, did not hesitate to show their opposition to the French military intervention in Mali against the jihadists. They were supported by their sponsorship of Qatar, however, one of Paris's closest allies in the Middle East.

The most straightforward load came from Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi , the Brotherhood coming from. "We will never agree with a military intervention in Mali because this will fuel conflict in the region, "said the Egyptian leader traveling in Saudi Arabia, did not hesitate to speak of" aggression. "For Morsi, "the intervention must be peaceful (...) funds must be invested in development. That we will never want is to separate the Arab north from the heart of Africa. "

Anxious to paste a block Islamist quick to denounce "foreign invaders," the Tunisian leaders have started to show opposition to the French military offensive, then retracted somewhat. A week ago, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, member of the Muslim Brotherhood, Rafik Abdelsallem, believed that "Africa's problems must be solved in an African", while saying "against foreign intervention in all cases of figures. "

Egyptian Air Force contracts for additional Airbus aircraft C295

Airbus Military HAS RECEIVED a contract for the delivery of additional EADS CASA C-295 military tactical transportation aircraft to the Egyptian Air Force (EAF).

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Representing year overall third order, the latest contract covers the delivery of six C295, Bringing the total number of aircraft ordered to date by the air force to 12.

The contract includes provision of aussi associated spare parts and support equipment, as well as supporting training and field to the air force.

Commercial Airbus Military senior VP Antonio Rodriguez Barberan Said the contract REAFFIRMS the Egyptian defense ministry's confidence, as well as Demonstrating the company's Ability to Provide customer specific products.

"The C295 is exactly the kind of workhorse required for current and future airlift missions, and the MOST cost-efficient complement to heavy transport aircraft," added Barberan.

"Representing year overall third order, the latest contract covers the delivery of six C295."

The selection of the aircraft was based upon icts combat proven versatility, robustness and efficiency for daily transportation missions, as well as ease of service and low operational costs.

An initial batch of three C295 aircraft was ordered by FAE for tactical and transportation Logistical operations in October 2010.

Powered by two Pratt & Whitney turboprop engines PW127G, the C-295 is a tactical military transportation aircraft designed to perform tactical airlift, search and rescue (SAR) and maritime patrol and environmental monitoring missions.

Capable of Conducting short take-offs and landing on semi-prepared runways, the aircraft aussi Enables easy loading of mission pallets, passengers, cargo and medical evacuation litters for (MEDEVAC), communication and Logistical duties, or paratrooping operations.

Around 93 C295s out of a total of 115 aircraft ordered Have Been Delivered by Airbus to 15 different operators worldwide, Including Algeria, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Finland, Jordan, Poland, Portugal and Spain.

Deliveries under the new contract are scheduled to begin from the end of 2013.

Egypt says it seized US-made missiles near Gaza

 Egyptian authorities seized six U.S.-made missiles in the Sinai Peninsula Friday that security officials said were likely smuggled from Libya and bound for the Gaza Strip.
Libya's 2011 uprising and subsequent civil war left the country awash in weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades, automatic rifles and other munitions. Since the end of the country's eight-month conflict, smugglers have transferred some of the weapons to Islamic militants in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, which has faced a security vacuum since the country's own uprising, and from there onward in underground tunnels to neighboring Gaza.
Security officials said that police working on a tip from local Bedouin discovered the six U.S.-made missiles hidden in a hole in the desert outside the northern Sinai city of el-Arish before dawn on Friday. They said the anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles have a range of up to one mile.
The officials, who spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to speak to media, did not specify the make of weapon.
Over the past year, Egypt's Interior Ministry has confiscated hundreds of weapons smuggled from Libya, often near the Egyptian city of Marsa Matrouh, which is located along the Mediterranean coastal highway some 270 miles northwest of Cairo. Last month, security officials seized 17 French-made missiles near el-Arish, east of Marsa Matrouh along the coast, before they could be smuggled through tunnels to the Gaza Strip.

Lawmakers question gift of 20 F-16s to Morsi's Egypt

Key lawmakers expressing concerns about the Obama administration's plan to send 20 F-16 fighter jets to Egypt, where new President Mohamed Morsi's allegiances are as uncertain as his grip on power.
Under a foreign aid deal signed in 2010, when Morsi's U.S.-friendly predecessor Hosni Mubarak was in charge, the U.S. is giving the planes to Egypt's air force, which already has more than 200 of the aircraft. The first four jets are to be delivered beginning Jan. 22, a source at the naval air base in Fort Worth, where the planes have been undergoing testing, told FoxNews.com. But the $213 million gift is raising questions on Capitol Hill as Morsi is under fire for trying to seize dictatorial powers and allegedly siccing thugs and rapists on protesters.
Florida Rep.Vern Buchanan, who recently called for ending foreign aid to Egypt altogether, said the Muslim Brotherhood-backed Morsi government has been sending increasingly troubling signals to Washington, and giving it state-of-the-art fighter jets is a dangerous idea.
“American tax dollars must not be used to aid and abet any dictatorial regime that stands with terrorists,” Buchanan said.
Rep. Mac Thornberry, (R-Texas), vice chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, told FoxNews.com Egypt is a wild card under Morsi.

TAI to sell Anka UAVs to Egypt

Egypt has agreed to purchase 10 Anka unmanned air vehicles made by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI).
The Anka development was accelerated after Turkey cut all defence relations with Israel as a result of an Israeli navy confrontation with a "peace flotilla" that sailed from Turkey for the Gaza Strip in 2010.

Turkey's air force has purchased and still operates Israel Aerospace Industries Heron 1s, but the nation's army recently announced its intention to cancel a further planned procurement of Aeronautics Defense Systems Aerostar tactical reconnaissance systems.
TAI says the developmental Anka can carry a payload of 250kg (550lb) for 24h. Maximum take-off weight is 1,500kg. The company earlier this year said it was in talks with the Turkish military over a planned 10-aircraft launch order, with deliveries expected to begin within two years of a contract signature.

And if Egypt was the first country customer Rafale ...

In early summer 2011, the Egyptian military sent him to Paris an "expression of interest" for the Rafale. Paris was embarrassed and Dassault Aviation is not interested.

It was early in the summer of 2011 shortly after the pressure of the Egyptian street has been the head of Hosni Mubarak in February. At that time, the military, including Marshal Hussein Tantawi, who headed the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF), expecting at any time to return power to civilians. But they have money. And want to spend before their departure. "We realized they had lots of kitties," said one expert dossier to "latribune.fr." Another source confirms that "there was in the Egyptian military frenzy to sign arms contracts." Cairo is well received in Paris "expression of interest" for the tricolor fighter, the Rafale, according to several sources. Egyptian military would provide much between 12 and 20 aircraft.

Dassault Aviation not interested

Surprising that embarrasses a request, it seems, France. However, Paris does not want to offend Egypt with whom she discusses other contracts. For its part, the manufacturer of the Rafale, Dassault Aviation, it is much less diplomatic. It is really not interested in this operation as it seeks to resettle the Mirage 2000-9 of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) through the sale of 60 Rafale in Abu Dhabi. Why not Egypt, which has in its fleet of Mirage 2000 upgrade old. First export customer of the single-engine designed by Dassault Aviation, Cairo was paid in early 2000 20 Mirage 2000 (16 EM and 4 Mirage 2000 Mirage 2000 WB) and the first copies were received in 1986. However, Paris began to discuss with Cairo to understand the needs of the Egyptian military. Egyptian drivers even try the Rafale. But it will not go away.

Egypt president removes prosecutor-general

Mohamed Morsi removes top prosecutor after Mubarak loyalists acquitted in "Camel Battle" case.
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has removed the country's prosecutor general a day after all 24 defendants in the Cairo "Camel Battle" case were acquitted, state television has reported.

Abdel Meguid Mahmoud, the country's top prosecutor, was named as the country's ambassador to the Vatican on Thursday.
The state broadcaster said the transfer had been made by presidential decree.
Mahmoud was considered to be a remnant of ousted president Hosni Mubarak's regime.
On February 2, 2011, pro-Mubarak forces riding camels and horses, charged into the crowd in Cairo's Tahrir Square. The "Camel Battle" became a symbol of the revolution and Mubarak's efforts to suppress it.
The ruling on Wednesday sparked anger across the country, and Mahmoud was blamed for presenting a weak case to the court.
A presidential spokesperson told Al Jazeera that the decision to reassign Mahmoud was in direct response to the demands of the Egyptian people.

Turkish-Egyptian exercise in the eastern Mediterranean

Turkish and Egyptian navies are in joint maneuvers in the eastern Mediterranean, from October 7 to 14.If this exercise is enough ritual takes place in the fall, it is clear that the situation in Syria - and its recent escalation - as the possible repercussions in Lebanon, make the exercise Bahr E Sadaka (Sea of ​​friendship) unusual. Especially since the Turks have the means. As our colleague Turkish navy Turskish they undertake two frigates, two fast attack vessels, a tanker, but two landing ships, an infantry company mrine, two helicopters and a team of special forces.

US, Egypt to begin joint naval war games

Talks are under way between senior Navy officials and their counterparts in Cairo to begin conducting joint war games for the first time since Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi took power earlier this year.

While bilateral discussions on the naval drills are still being discussed, the exercises would focus on improving Egypt's ability to deal with small boat attacks and general patrol operations of its coastal waters, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert told reporters Thursday.

In the near term, the Pentagon is laying out the conditions with the country's new military leaders to allow American warships to begin docking at Egyptian ports again, Greenert said during a speech at an Association of the U.S. Navy-sponsored event in Washington that same day. The Navy has always maintained a strong relationship with Morsi's predecessor, former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, but those ties had "atrophied" in recent years as Mubarak's government clung to power, according to Greenert.
The renewed port calls and military drills will help reinforce those ties in a region that has been roiled by a wave of power shifts and revolutions during the Arab Spring movement.
Last February, Mubarak was one of the many Arab leaders ousted from power by that wave.
Plans for U.S. naval reengagement began shortly after Morsi, in one of his first official acts as Egyptian president, reshuffled the country's military leadership last month.
At that time, Greenert said he reached out to Egypt's newly installed naval chief to congratulate him on his new position. In response, the Egypt's top naval officer suggested that it was time to start looking at joint training exercises with the United States.

Egypt-Germany submarine deal on track despite Israeli objections: Sources

As Tel Aviv regime urges Berlin to halt scheduled delivery of German submarines to Egypt, military experts say Cairo must diversify its sources for weapons purchasesWhile Cairo said it had succeeded over the past year to offset Israel’s efforts to block delivery of German submarines to Egypt based on a deal signed in November of last year, Egyptian sources close to the deal confirm that the agreement was still on track and that Germany would deliver two 902-Class submarines over Israeli objections.
Germany’s ministers of defence and foreign affairs spoke on the issue last week. The deal was a talking point during a visit by German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle to Israel after Tel Aviv complained about the deal. Both Israel’s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Ehud Barak urged Berlin to freeze the contract out of concern that Egypt’s navy would establish a naval defence platform that could be used against Israel in a future confrontation.
The Israeli politicians reminded Germany of its previous commitment to ensure Israel’s qualitative military superiority and not to export any weapons to states in the region that might threaten Israel’s interests. Germany’s response, which many Israeli newspapers highlighted, was that Germany remained committed to the deal it had signed with Egypt and thus must make the delivery, adding that no one could interfere in German policy regarding such deals.
Egyptian experts agreed that the deal is significant, irrespective of qualitative superiority. Egypt today needs to diversify its weapons sources, according to security expert Major General Sameh Seif El-Yazel, who explained that the 902-Class submarine had fewer capabilities than the Dolphin-Class subs that Israel had received from Germany within the past decade.

Egypt's New Leader Spells Out Terms For U.S.-Arab Ties

On the eve of his first trip to the United States as Egypt's new Islamist president, Mohamed Morsi said the United States needed to fundamentally change its approach to the Arab world, showing greater respect for its values and helping build a Palestinian state, if it hoped to overcome decades of pent-up anger.

A former leader of the Muslim Brotherhood and Egypt’s first democratically elected president, Mr. Morsi sought in a 90-minute interview with The New York Times to introduce himself to the American public and to revise the terms of relations between his country and the United States after the ouster of Hosni Mubarak, an autocratic but reliable ally.

He said it was up to Washington to repair relations with the Arab world and to revitalize the alliance with Egypt, long a cornerstone of regional stability.

If Washington is asking Egypt to honor its treaty with Israel, he said, Washington should also live up to its own Camp David commitment to Palestinian self-rule. He said the United States must respect the Arab world’s history and culture, even when that conflicts with Western values.

And he dismissed criticism from the White House that he did not move fast enough to condemn protesters who recently climbed over the United States Embassy wall and burned the American flag in anger over a video that mocked the Prophet Muhammad.

“We took our time” in responding to avoid an explosive backlash, he said, but then dealt “decisively” with the small, violent element among the demonstrators.

“We can never condone this kind of violence, but we need to deal with the situation wisely,” he said, noting that the embassy employees were never in danger.

Egypt: Germany Not to Backtrack On Exporting Two Submarines to Nation

German Ambassador in Cairo Michael Bock said his country will not backtrack on its decision to export two submarines to Egypt.
No person or government in the world can obstruct any decision taken by the German government, Bock added during a press conference in Cairo on Wednesday 19/9/2012.
The Federal Security Council in Germany is the body in charge of exporting arms, he said, noting that decisions in this respect are deemed covert and no one is entitled to veto them.
Bock's remarks came when asked to comment on Israel's angry reaction concerning the sale of the submarines to Egypt.

The German diplomat said he is pleased with policies adopted by President Mohamed Morsi.
The Egyptian government has made steps forward in terms of efforts to achieve Middle East peace, Bock said, citing Cairo's reiterated commitment to the peace deal with Israel, its efforts to reconcile Palestinian factions and its initiative to solve the Syrian crisis.
Germany is willing to help Egypt either through the European Union or bilateral cooperation, Bock told the press conference. Berlin has offered to establish projects worth 240 million euros in debt swap, he said.

Spotlight Is On Libya, But Bigger Challenge For White House May Lie In Egypt

For all the harrowing images of the deadly attack on the American mission in Benghazi, the Obama administration is grappling with the possibility that its far bigger long-term problem lies in Egypt, not Libya.

Hours before the attacks in Benghazi on Tuesday, the American Embassy in Cairo came under siege from protesters. While the violence there did not result in any American deaths, the tepid response from the Egyptian government to the assault gave officials in Washington — already troubled by the direction of President Mohamed Morsi’s new Islamist government — further cause for concern.

President Obama, speaking in the Rose Garden on Wednesday, pointedly noted that Libyan authorities had tried to help the American effort to protect diplomats in Benghazi. “This attack will not break the bonds between the United States and Libya,” Mr. Obama said. The Libyans “helped some of our diplomats find safety, and they carried Ambassador Stevens’s body to the hospital, where we tragically learned he had died,” he added, referring to the envoy J. Christopher Stevens.

Egypt subs deal boosts German arms sales

Germany's reported plan to sell Egypt submarines, underlines Berlin's drive to ease restrictions on arms exports to the Middle East, Africa and India.

Germany's reported plan to sell Egypt two advanced submarines, apparently to the dismay of Israel, underlines Berlin's controversial drive to ease tight restrictions on arms exports and boost military sales in the Middle East, Africa and India.

On Aug. 31, Egypt's leading newspaper, al-Ahram, quoted navy commander Rear Adm. Osama Ahmed el-Gindi as saying the German government had agreed to sell two Type 209 diesel-electric attack submarines produced by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft AG of Kiel, the main supplier of submarines to the German navy.

Berlin has remained tight-lipped about Gindi's disclosure, which triggered angry protests in Israel, particularly amid the rise of an Islamist government in Cairo following the February 2011 fall of President Hosni Mubarak in a pro-democracy uprising.

Egypt's new president, Mohammed Morsi, a former leader of the once-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, has indicated his objections to Israel's 1979 peace treaty with Israel and reportedly seeks to negotiate major revisions amid growing tensions in the Sinai Peninsula.

Why Is Egypt’s Intelligence Chief Meeting A Senior Iranian Spy In Secret?

U.S. intelligence agencies recently monitored a secret meeting between Egypt’s intelligence chief and a senior Iranian spy that is raising new fears the Muslim Brotherhood government in Cairo could begin covertly supporting global terrorism.
According to U.S. officials, the head of the Egyptian General Intelligence Service, Maj. Gen. Murad Muwafi, met in early August with a senior official of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS).
Disclosure of the Egyptian-Iranian intelligence meeting comes as the Obama administration is planning to provide $1 billion in aid to bail out Egypt’s new Islamist government. The administration is said to be seeking closer ties to the new regime in Cairo, following the ouster in February 2011 of long-time ally Hosni Mubarak.
Many members of the pro-democratic, anti-Muslim Brotherhood opposition in Egypt believe the Obama administration has made a covert pact to support the Morsi regime.
Meanwhile in Cairo, Islamic protesters on Tuesday stormed the U.S. Embassy and pulled down the American flag to protest what they said was a U.S. film production the protesters claimed insulted Islam.
U.S. intelligence gathering targeting Egypt has been stepped up over the past year as the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist party, came to power in June. The group’s credo includes the phrase, “Allah is our objective; the Quran is our law, the Prophet is our leader; jihad is our way; and death for the sake of Allah is the highest of our aspirations.”

Israel threatens to block US aid to Egypt to stop German submarine deal

Israel has threatened to use its considerable influence over US foreign policy to block Egypt's purchase of two submarines from Germany. According to German press reports, Israel intends to prevent Egypt from buying two Class 209 submarines. Bild newspaper quoted Israeli diplomats as saying that Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi must first show that he can be trusted before such deals can be allowed. They were speaking during the visit of German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle to Israel.
"If this does not happen," said the unnamed sources, "Israel will use its influence in the United States to cut American aid to Egypt." They argued that it is unreasonable for the Egyptian government to appeal to

Egypt purchases new submarines from Germany

Cairo strengthening naval fleet with new submarines from Germany says Naval Commander Ahmed el-Gendy. New additions also include ships from US, Holland and Turkey

Egypt's Naval Commander Osama Ahmed el-Gendy, said on Friday that Egypt has signed an agreement with Germany in which the former will acquire two German-built Type-209 attack submarines.

He stressed that the deal had already been signed even though he says "the submarines currently used by the Egyptian navy are capable of carrying out their tasks and respond to anything in the Mediterranean or Red Sea. The Egyptian military is always looking to the future at to the latest innovations." 
The Type-209 models were built by Germany in the 1960s and are used in many navies around the world including Turkey, Greece, Argentina, Brazil and Indonesia.

The Egyptian navy has a small and relatively outdated fleet. Israel's Dolphin submarines are also based on the 209 model but are more advanced.

Report Reveals that Egypt Refused U.S. Request to Inspect Vessel in Suez Canal

The Egypt Independent reports that the Egyptian Navy refused a request from the U.S. to fire on an Iranian weapons ship travelling through the Suez canal en route to Syria.
The al-Arabyia news agency corroborated the report, saying that Mohab Mamish, the recently appointed chairman of the Suez Canal Authority and former Egyptian Navy commander, said that the action was refused because the canal is too narrow for military action.
The request was made by the U.S. recently. The news outlets say that the Suez Canal authority is notified 24 hours in advance of a ship’s passage through the canal allowing for time to verify the ships identity.
Mamish told the Egypt Independent that his main goal is to secure the canal and the vessels passing through it.