US to deliver eight F-16 aircrafts to Egypt

The embassy, led by Ambassador Robert Beecroft, said in a statement on Wednesday that the F-16s will be flown directly to Egypt from the US, and will be integrated immediately into the Egyptian air force. Gen. Charles Hooper, the U.S. Embassy’s senior defense official in Cairo.

The United States is delivering eight F-16 fighter jets to Egypt on July 30 and 31, the U.S. embassy in Cairo said Thursday.

Relations have warmed since the 2013 ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, with Saudi Arabia offering billions in aid to Egypt and Cairo participating in a Saudi-led bombing campaign against Iran-backed rebels in Yemen.

Four more F-16s are scheduled to be delivered later this year, with the US continuing to provide follow-up support and training for pilots and ground crews.

US Secretary of State John Kerry will be in Egypt on Sunday to hold a “strategic dialogue”, which last took place between the two countries in December 2009.

Egypt has been battling jihadists in the Sinai Peninsula, who have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, and Washington has backed its efforts.

In late March, US President Barack Obama lifted a hold on a supply of arms to Cairo, authorising deliveries of US weapons valued at more than $1.3bn.

“In this way, we will ensure that U.S. funding is being used to promote shared objectives in the region, including a secure and stable Egypt and the defeat of terrorist organizations”, National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said in a statement, via Reuters.