Egyptian Officials Oppose U.S. Aid Suspension

October 10, 2013 2:01 PM - Updated: October 10, 2013 4:36 PM
An undated photo of the ENS S. Ezzat, an Egyptian Fast Missile Craft. VT Halter Marine Photo
An undated photo of the ENS S. Ezzat, an Egyptian Fast Missile Craft. VT Halter Marine Photo

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry issued a Thursday statement implying it would look to countries other than the U.S. for military hardware.

The statement said the country would secure its “vital needs” for national security, according to a report in the Associated Press.

The statement follows a Wednesday announcement from the U.S. State Department it would delay the delivery of high dollar weapon systems in Egypt during its ongoing political unrest.

“We are not able to continue to with business as usual,” said State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf in a Wednesday press briefing.
“Following on the result of the review directed by President Obama, we will announce the future of our assistance relationship with Egypt once we have made the appropriate diplomatic and congressional notifications.”

The State Department announcement follows reports in August of the Obama administration quietly putting on hold $585 million of Egypt’s $1.6 billion annual U.S. aid.

Tied up in the deal are 500 General Dynamics M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks, 20 F-16 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Falcons and four VT-Halter Marine fast missile craft for the Egyptian Navy. Two of the four FMCs were scheduled to be delivered this year, along with an order of Boeing AH-64 Apache attack helicopters that have been paid for but not delivered.

Sam LaGrone

Sam LaGrone

Sam LaGrone is the editor of USNI News. He has covered legislation, acquisition and operations for the Sea Services since 2009 and spent time underway with the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and the Canadian Navy.
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