Egypt is seeking to upgrade as well as refurbish its fleets of 43 AH-64D Apache attack helicopters to AH-64E standard. The deal is estimated to cost up to $2.3 billion after the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) approved the military sale. The principal contractors would be Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
According to the DSCA Egypt has requested a wide array of hardware for the refurbishment, including 88 T700-GE-701D engines; 47 AN/ASQ-170 Modernized Target Acquisition and Designation Sight/AN/AAR-11 Modernized Pilot Night Vision Sensors (MTADS/PNVS); 45 AAR-57 Common Missile Warning Systems (CMWS) and 92 Embedded Global Positioning System/Inertial Navigation Systems. Also included are AN/AVR-2B Laser Detecting Sets, AN/APX-119 IFF transponders, AN/APN-209 radar altimeters, AN/ARN-149 Automatic Direction Finders, radios, APR-39 Radar Warning Sets, Enhanced Image Intensifiers, Hellfire launchers, 2.75 inch 19 tube rocket launchers, M230 automatic guns, M230 spare gun barrels, spares, and other equipment.
The refurbishment deal will increase the military’s capabilities to fight the great threats in the region including but not limited to ISIS threat in the Sinai Peninsula as other threats that threaten hers and Israel’s security. Egypt has been upgrading its military in recent years including purchasing submarines from Germany as well as other military hardware to keep ahead of the ever-changing threat and security in the region.
