State Department Approves $2.6 Billion Helicopter Deal For Egypt

Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

On Thursday, the Pentagon said the State Department approved a potential sale of CH-47F Chinook helicopters and related equipment to Egypt worth about $2.6 billion.

The Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said the sale is for 56 Chinooks, which come with installed M-240 machine guns. The principal contractor for the deal is Boeing.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, AFP via Getty Images

The Chinook sale is the second arms deal the Biden administration moved forward for Egypt this month. Last week, the State Department approved the sale of over 5,000 TOW 2A anti-tank missiles worth an estimated $691 million.

The sales to Egypt come despite concerns in Washington over Cairo’s human rights abuses and its harsh treatment of political prisoners. Egypt receives about $1.3 billion in military aid from the US each year, the second-highest of any country except for Israel, although Ukraine has surpassed both nations for 2022.

Last year, the Biden administration withheld $130 million in military aid from Egypt after pressure from Congress, but many critics said it didn’t go far enough.

As a candidate, President Biden vowed to take a harder line on Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, but the arms sales continued.

US StateDept. authorizes a proposed Foreign Military Sales for Egypt to purchase up to 23 CH-47F Chinook helicopters and related equipment for an estimated cost of $2.6 billion.
Already 19 CH-47D in service in EAFhttps://t.co/KgTUubu3k3 pic.twitter.com/KQVlpxwsuV

— Harry Boone (@Harry_Boone) May 26, 2022

The State Department’s approval of the Chinook deal begins a period where it could potentially be blocked by Congress.