U.S. NASAMS Sale Paves the Way for Egypt’s Use of AIM-120 AMRAAMs

The United States Department of Defense’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) recently issued a notification stating that the U.S. Department of State has approved the sale of the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) to Egypt.

According to the statement released by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), the sale under the Foreign Military Sale (FMS) program includes 4 AN/MPQ-64F1 Sentinel radar systems, 100 AMRAAM-ER missiles, 100 AIM-120C-8 AMRAAM missiles, 600 AIM-9X Sidewinder Block II missiles, and other equipment. The total value of the sale is estimated to reach $4.67 billion.

With the publication of the notice, Egypt’s path to becoming a potential NASAMS user has been opened. Another noteworthy point is that the United States has effectively lifted its long-standing policy of banning AIM-120 AMRAAM sales to Egypt.

Egypt, which first acquired F-16 fighter jets in 1982, received a total of 240 F-16s between 1980 and 2009 under seven different packages. However, during these procurements, the United States never allowed the sale of advanced AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles to Egypt. As a result, the Egyptian Air Force had to rely on the shorter-ranged and less capable AIM-7 Sparrow missiles for the long-range engagement capability of its F-16 fleet.

This restriction, imposed due to security concerns about a possible conflict between Egypt and Israel, seems to have been lifted following the normalization of relations between the two countries in recent years.

Although it has been stated that the approved missiles will be used with the NASAMS air defense system, the NASAMS system does not require additional modification of the missiles to operate AIM-120 AMRAAMs. This allows the missile stockpiles used by fighter aircraft, such as the AIM-120 and AIM-9, to be utilized by the NASAMS system when needed. Similarly, it has been indicated that missiles used by NASAMS could also be employed by fighter aircraft if necessary.

It is still unclear whether Egypt will be able to use these AIM-120 missiles with its F-16s and whether the U.S. will permit such usage. Egyptian F-16s likely require additional software updates and modifications for AIM-120 AMRAAM integration. However, the U.S.’s softening AMRAAM policy toward Egypt and the NASAMS sale may eventually pave the way for Egypt’s F-16s to operate AIM-120 AMRAAMs in the future.