US sends 10 Apache helicopters to Egypt

The United States delivered 10 Apache helicopters to Egypt in recent weeks after lifting part of a freeze on aid to the north African nation this April. 

US Secretary of State John Kerry had been promising Cairo's new leadership that the aircraft - aimed to join counter-terrorism operations in the Sinai Peninsula - would be delivered soon.

"They got there a few weeks ago," a US senior administration official told reporters.

Kerry announced in June that he was "confident" Egypt would receive the helicopter gunships soon, and reiterated that in a phone call to Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.

The US annually allocates some $1.5bn in aid to Egypt, including $1.3bn in military assistance.

US military aid to Egypt was partially frozen in October 2013 in the aftermath of the Egyptian army ouster of elected president Mohamed Morsi in July.

The US State Department’s arms freeze statement included the suspension of F-16 fighter jets, Apache helicopters, and M1 Abramtanks to Egypt.

However, as Middle East Eye previously reported, the US had continued to send the Egyptian military millions of dollars worth of parts for tanks, helicopters, fighter jets and guided missiles.

The US sent $44mn worth of guided missiles in February, $24.9 mn worth of parts for armored fighting vehicles and $5 mn worth of parts for Apache helicopters and F-16 fighter jets, according to shipping records.

For months, Egyptian officials have sought the release of the Apaches in order to strengthen their military crackdown on the Sinai Peninsula, where the army has been involved in fighting militants for over a year and a half. Reports in August indicated that Egypt had 34 Apache helicopters in its possession, although 12 were not operating due to maintenance issues.

The State Department has promised to deliver the four-blade twin-engine attack helicopters several times in the past months.

Osama Saleh of the Egyptian Americans for Democracy and Human Rights told MEE, “The US military assistance provides the Egyptian army a sense of false security and a belief that killing its own people can be overlooked.”

The US has provided $74.6bn worth of military aid to Egypt since 1948. Since the signing of the Egypt-Israel peace treaty in 1979, Washington has allocated $1.5bn annually in aid to Egypt of which $1.3 bn is allocated for military assistance.