Egypt Seeks Mig-29 M2 Fighter and Arms from Russia After U.S. Halt

Russia is negotiating its biggest weapons deals with Egypt since the Cold War.
Egypt is seeking as much as $2 billion of Russian weaponry, including MiG-29 fighter planes, air-defense systems and anti-tank missiles.
The Russian defense and foreign ministers will fly to Cairo this week for two days of talks with Egyptian officials on military-technical cooperation.
The Obama administration last month suspended some military aid to Egypt, including $260 million in cash and deliveries of F-16 fighter jets, helicopters and tanks in an effort to prod the North African country toward democracy. Egypt’s army ousted President Mohamed Mursi in July, leading to clashes between security forces and Mursi’s supporters in the Muslim Brotherhood that have left more than 1,000 people dead.
Egyptian officials are seeking financing from an unidentified Persian Gulf country to buy as much as $4 billion of Russian arms. Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Kuwait have pledged at least $12 billion to Egypt’s new government.
At the top of Egypt’s shopping list is the MiG-29 M2 fighter jet, an advanced version of the Soviet-designed aircraft. Egypt is interested in 24 of the warplanes.
Egypt may also be interested in short- to medium-range Russian defense systems such as the Buk M2, Tor M2 and Pantsir-S1.
bloomberg