General Dynamics F-16
Fighting Falcon for Egypt
Last revised May 20, 2000
The Al Quwwat al Jawwiya Ilmisriya
(Egyptian Air Force) operates a substantial number of first- and second-generation F-16s.
In 1979, the government of Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel, ending over 30 years
of tension and sometimes open warfare between these two Middle Eastern nations. As one of
the benefits of coming to an agreement with Israel, Egypt became a major recipient of
United States military aid, switching from Moscow to Washington for its arms supplies.
On June 25, 1980, Egypt signed a letter
of agreement to acquire 40 Block 15 F-16A/B fighters (34 A single-seaters and 8 B
two-seaters) under the Peace Vector FMS program. The first F-16 was accepted by
Egypt in a ceremony at Fort Worth in January of 1982, with the first six planes arriving
in Egypt in March of that year.
Under Peace Vector II, Egypt
ordered 40 F-16C/Ds (34 Cs and six Ds) with AIM-7 Sparrow capability. These were Block 32
machines, and were one of the few examples of F-16C/Ds being built that were compatible
with the AIM-7 Sparrow. First F-16C/D deliveries were in October of 1986, the 242nd
Regiment at Beni Suef being the first to be equipped with the type.
In June of 1990, Egypt signed an order
for 35 Block 40 F-16Cs and 12 Block 40 F-16Ds. These were to be powered by the General
Electric F110 turbofan. This order was under Peace Vector III, and these planes
were intended to equip two squadrons as well as to make up for attrition. The first Peace
Vector III F-16s were delivered to Egypt in October of 1991.
A contract to produce 46 Block 40
F-16C/Ds for the Egyptian Air Force was placed with TUSAS Aerospace Industries (TAI) of
Turkey. 34 of them were F-16Cs, 12 were F-16Ds. This was carried out under the auspices of
the Peace Vector IV program, and marked the first sale of a foreign-built Fighting
Falcon to a third-party nation in the history of the F-16 program. All but one of the
earlier F-16s for Egypt had originated on the Lockheed/General Dynamics production line at
Fort Worth. The first TAI-built aircraft was delivered to Egypt in early 1994. For formal
bureaucratic reasons dealing with the rules and regulations under which the Foreign
Military Sales program operates, TAI is not allowed to deliver F-16s directly to Egypt.
Instead, the aircraft are initially delivered to the USAF, which then turns them over to
Egypt.
Under Peace Vector V of May 1996,
21 Block 40 F-16Cs were ordered. Deliveries began in November of 1999, and should continue
until 2002. As part of Peace Vector V, GBU-15 and AGM-84 capability will be
integrated into all of Egypt's earlier F-16Cs.
Another dozen Block 40 F-16Cs and an
equal number of F-16Ds were ordered in August 1999 under Peace Vector VI. This
raises overall F-16 Egyptian orders to 220, including 60 F-16Ds. The Peace Vector VI
planes will be powered by General Electric F110-GE-100B turbofans and will be equipped
with the Northrop Grumman AN/APG-88(V) fire control radar.
Four wings of the Egyptian Air Force now
operate the F-16. 34 F-16As and six F-16Bs from Peace Vector I are at Genaclis. 34
F-16Cs and six F-16Ds from Peace Vector II are with the Beni Sueif Wing. 35 F-16Cs and 12
F-16Ds from Peace Vector III are with Abu Sueir Wing. Egypt will have received a
total of 175 Fighting Falcons by the time all the TAI machines have been delivered. By
1997, all of Egypt's Block 15 and 32 aircraft had been brought up to Block 42 standards.
Since Egyptian Air Force F-16s were
acquired under Foreign Military Sales, they carry USAF serial numbers for administrative
purpose. In service, they carry a four-digit EAF serial number on their vertical tails.
Serials of Egyptian Air Force F-16s:
80-0639/0641 General Dynamics F-16A Block 15A Fighting Falcon
exported to Egypt under Peace Vector (9301/9303)
80-0642/0643 General Dynamics F-16A Block 15B Fighting Falcon
exported to Egypt under Peace Vector (9304/9305)
80-0644/0647 General Dynamics F-16B Block 15A Fighting Falcon
exported to Egypt under Peace Vector (9201/9204)
80-0648 General Dynamics F-16B Block 15B Fighting Falcon
exported to Egypt under Peace Vector (9205)
81-0643/0644 General Dynamics F-16A Block 15C Fighting Falcon
to Egypt under Peace Vector (9306/9307)
81-0645/0647 General Dynamics F-16A Block 15D Fighting Falcon
to Egypt under Peace Vector (9308/9310)
81-0648/0650 General Dynamics F-16A Block 15E Fighting Falcon
to Egypt under Peace Vector (9311/9313)
81-0651/0653 General Dynamics F-16A Block 15F Fighting Falcon
to Egypt under Peace Vector (9314/9316)
81-0654/0657 General Dynamics F-16A Block 15G Fighting Falcon
to Egypt under Peace Vector (9317/9320)
81-0658/0661 General Dynamics F-16A Block 15H Fighting Falcon
to Egypt under Peace Vector (9321/9324)
81-0662 General Dynamics F-16B Block 15C Fighting Falcon
to Egypt under Peace Vector (9206)
81-0883 General Dynamics F-16B Block 15P Fighting Falcon
built by Fokker for Egypt (9207)
82-1042/1045 General Dynamics F-16B Block 15N Fighting Falcon
1043 to Egypt under Peace Vector as 9208
82-1056/1057 General Dynamics F-16A Block 15J Fighting Falcon
to Egypt under Peace Vector (9325/9326)
82-1058/1060 General Dynamics F-16A Block 15K Fighting Falcon
to Egypt under Peace Vector (9327/9329)
9327 crashed May 15, 1995.
82-1061/1063 General Dynamics F-16A Block 15L Fighting Falcon
to Egypt under Peace Vector (9330/9332)
82-1064/1065 General Dynamics F-16A Block 15M Fighting Falcon
to Egypt under Peace Vector (9333/9334)
84-1332 General Dynamics F-16C Block 32 Fighting Falcon
For Egypt as 9501
84-1333/1339 General Dynamics F-16C Block 32A Fighting Falcon
for Egypt as 9502/9508
84-1340/1343 General Dynamics F-16D Block 32 Fighting Falcon
For Egypt as 9401/9404
84-1344/1345 General Dynamics F-16D Block 32a Fighting Falcon
For Egypt as 9405/9406
85-1518/1523 General Dynamics F-16C Block 32A Fighting Falcon
for Egypt as 9509/9514
85-1524/1543 General Dynamics F-16C Block 32B Fighting Falcon
for Egypt as 9515/9534
90-0899/0907 General Dynamics F-16C Block 40H Fighting Falcon
sold to Egypt as 9903/9911
90-0908/0922 General Dynamics F-16C Block 40K Fighting Falcon
sold to Egypt as 9912/9926
90-0923/0930 General Dynamics F-16C Block 40L Fighting Falcon
sold to Egypt as 9927/9934
90-0931/0934 General Dynamics F-16D Block 40H Fighting Falcon
sold to Egypt as 9801/9804
90-0935/0936 General Dynamics F-16D Block 40J Fighting Falcon
sold to Egypt as 9805/9806
90-0937 General Dynamics F-16D Block 40K Fighting Falcon
sold to Egypt as 9807
90-0953 General Dynamics F-16C Block 40M Fighting Falcon
sold to Egypt as 9935
90-0954 General Dynamics F-16D Block 40M Fighting Falcon
sold to Egypt as 9808
90-0955/0958 General Dynamics F-16D Block 40N Fighting Falcon
sold to Egypt as 9809/9812
93-485/487 Lockheed F-16C Block 40Q Fighting Falcon
Built by TUSAS in Turkey for Egypt as 9951/9953
93-488/512 Lockheed F-16C Block 40R Fighting Falcon
C/n BC-36/BC-59. Built by TUSAS in Turkey for Egypt
as 9954/9978
93-513/516 Lockheed F-16D Block 40N Fighting Falcon
C/n BC-60/BC-63. Built by TUSAS in Turkey for Egypt
as 9851/9854
93-517/524 Lockheed F-16D Block 40P Fighting Falcon
C/n BD-13/BD-24. Built by TUSAS in Turkey for Egypt
as 9855/9862
93-525/530 Lockheed F-16C Block 40R Fighting Falcon
c/n BC-64/BC-69. Built by TUSAS in Turkey for Egypt
as 9979/9984
96-086/106 Lockheed Martin F-16C Block 40 Fighting Falcon
to Egypt (Peace Vector V)
99-105/116 Lockheed Martin F-16C Block 40 Fighting Falcon
FMS to Egypt
99-117/128 Lockheed Martin F-16D Block 40 Fighting Falcon
FMS to Egypt
Plus later deliveries.
Sources:
- Combat Aircraft F-16, Doug Richardson,
Crescent, 1992.
- General Dynamics Aircraft and their
Predecessors, John Wegg, Naval Institute Press, 1990.
- The American Fighter, Enzo Angelucci and
Peter Bowers, Orion, 1987.
- United States Military Aircraft Since
1909, Gordon Swanborough and Peter M. Bowers, Smithsonian, 1989.
- F-16 Fighting Falcon--A Major Review of
the West's Universal Warplane, Robert F. Dorr, World Airpower Journal, Spring 1991.
- The World's Great Interceptor Aircraft,
Gallery, 1989.
- Modern Military Aircraft--F-16 Viper, Lou
Drendel, Squadron/Signal Publications, 1992.
- Lockheed F-16 Variants, Part 1, World
Airpower Journal, Volume 21, Summer 1995.
- Thanks to Ben Marselis for the updates on
the EAF serials.
- Turkish Aerospace Industries--The First
Ten Years, Renzo Sacchetti and Paolo Rollino, Air International, June 1994, p.353.
- Lockheed Martin F-16 Operators: Part 2,
Peter R. Foster, World Airpower Journal, Vol 24, Spring 1996.
- Military Aviation Review, World Airpower
Journal, Vol 40, Spring 2000.
- Military Aviation Review, World Airpower
Journal, Vol 39, Winter 1999.
- Arab Air Power Survey--Part One, Air
Forces Monthly, No. 141, December 1999.
