WASHINGTON [MENL] -- Egypt plans to launch assembly of an additional 100 M1A1 tanks.
Egypt intends to assemble the U.S. tanks in its factory outside Cairo. So far, the Egyptian military has assembled more than 600 Abrams tanks under license from its manufacturer, General Dynamics. The latest request by Cairo is estimated to cost $590 million. Last week, the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency informed Congress of the Egyptian request. "This proposed sale will increase the quantity of the Abrams tank coproduction program, started in 1988, from the current level of 655 tanks to 755 tanks," the agency said in a statement. "Egypt, which has already coproduced the M1A1 Abrams tanks, will have no difficulty absorbing the additional tanks." General Dynamics would supply the M1A1 kits under the proposed contract and supply the components required to assemble the tanks. The company has a large contingent at Egypt's Factory 200, where the M1A1 is assembled. The M1A1 supplied to Egypt contains the M256 armament systems, M2 .50 caliber machine guns and M240 7.62 mm machine guns. The U.S. systems will replace the Soviet-built T-62 tanks obtained in the 1970s. The Egyptian request marks the last phase of a 1999 agreement by Washington to supply 200 Abrams tanks to Cairo. The first 100 tank kits have already been supplied and most of the tanks assembled. The deal does not contain any offsets to Egypt.
Я не думаю что это признак приближающейся войны или что-то в этом роде, здесь интересно другое - открыто названо количество Абрамсов у Египта на данный момент - 655 штук, а не 555. Когда я это говорил, мне не верили, потому что на www.army-technology.com написано что у них 555 М1А1 :-)
