Senior members of the defense establishment say that Israel is working to approve the deal for American planes to Egypt, in the shadow of the summit this week. The reason given for the White House: It is better for the Egyptian army to be equipped with American weapons systems rather than weapons systems from Russia and China
Israel is working to persuade the United States to conclude a deal to sell F-15s with Egypt, in the shadow of a summit earlier this week between Naftali Bennett, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Emirates heir apparent Muhammad bin Zayed. This was reported in Walla.
Defense officials said the F-15 deal went up last year, when Egypt began re-examining another deal it signed with Russia in 2018 to purchase advanced Su-35 fighter jets.
Security officials who have visited Washington in recent weeks have told White House officials that it is better for both the United States and Israel for the Egyptian military to be equipped with American weapons systems rather than weapons systems from Russia and China.
A senior defense official told Walla! Because Israel has long been concerned about the tensions in relations between the United States and Egypt and believes that strengthening and improving relations between these two countries is in Israel’s interest.
Last week, the outgoing commander of the U.S. Army Central Command, General Frank Mackenzie, said at a hearing in the Senate Armed Services Committee that the administration plans to approve the sale of the advanced F-15s to Egypt. He added that the deal has been under discussion for a long time.