Egypt Air Force - EAF - Al Quwwat al Jawwiya Ilmisriya
Scale 1-48 model
F-16 Fighting Falcon
Registration: EAF F-16C block 40 #9951
Airplane is rotatable on foot
Brand: not known
Material: Metal - Synthetic
Condition: Small paint damage at nose pin - no box
Dimensions (cm): Display: 22 x 30 x 24
Weight (g): 365
The Egyptian Air Force operates 220 F-16s, making it the 4th largest F-16 operator in the world. The F-16 is the EAF's primary frontline aircraft, and is used for both air defence and ground attack.
History
When Egypt had to rebuild their armed forces after the devastating losses suffered during the 1967 six-day war with Israel, it turned to the USSR as its main supplier for aircraft. Russian advisors and instructors played a crucial role in the rebuilding of the air force.
During the 1973 Yom Kippur war with Israel, Egypt's air force performed well but could not secure the victory. The EAF lost some 100 of its 220 aircraft during this conflict, including most of its MiG-21 and Il-28 fighters and bombers.
After the Yom Kippur war, Russia stalled deliveries of new aircraft. Because of this, Egypt turned to other suppliers, notably France and the US. In 1979 the government of Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel, ending over 30 years of tension and hostilities. With the peace treaty signed, Egypt became a major recipient of United States military aid.
Deliveries of Western equipment started with French Mirage 5 aircraft and US F-4E's. In the early 80s, Egypt ordered Mirage 2000's and F-16A/Bs, followed by F-16C/Ds in the mid-eighties.
Recently, Egypt has also turned to China as a mainly cheaper source of fighter aircraft.
Inventory
Program: Peace Vector IV
Model: F-16C
Block: Block 40
Qty.: 34
Serials: 9951/9984
Delivered: 1994-1995
Peace Vector IV
A contract to produce 46 Block 40 F-16C/D's for the Egyptian Air Force was placed with TUSAS Aerospace Industries (TAI) of Turkey.
34 of them will be F-16C's, 12 will be F-16D's.
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.
The first aircraft was delivered in early 1994, and deliveries continued into 1995.
All but one of the earlier F-16s for Egypt had originated on the Lockheed/General Dynamics production line at Fort Worth.
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.
Egypt had received a total of 175 Fighting Falcons by the time all the TAI machines were delivered.
Modifications & Armament
Together with the 5th order, Egypt decided to modify older F-16C/D aircraft in-country through Engineering Change Proposals detailing requirements for the installation and integration of HARPOON and GBU-15 weapons capability, aircraft radar modifications and other related elements of program support.
Principal contractors for the upgrade program will be McDonnell Douglas, St. Louis, Mo.; Rockwell International, Tactical Systems Division, Duluth, Ga. and the Westinghouse Electronic Systems Group, Baltimore, M.D.
All aircraft in the Block 15 and 32 series have been or will be upgraded with most Block 40/42 features, thus retaining the Pratt&Whitney F-100 engines and the small inlet ducts.
As a consequence, every Egyptian F-16 (Block 15, 32 or 40) can accommodate the LANTIRN-system (they have been modified with the holographic HUD) giving them full autonomous laser weapon handling (i.e. GBU-15's, AGM-65D's).
Together with the 6th deal, a batch of AGM-88 missiles was also delivered for usage on the block 40 airframes.
F-16 Fighting Falcon
Role: Multirole Jet Fighter, air superiority fighter
National origin: United States
Manufacturer:
General Dynamics (1974–1993)
Lockheed Corporation (1993–1995)
Lockheed Martin (1995–present)
First flight:
20 January 1974; 48 years ago (unplanned)
2 February 1974; 48 years ago (official)
Introduction: 17 August 1978; 43 years ago
Retired: 2022 (Norway)
Status: In service
Primary users: United States Air Force + 25 other users
Produced: 1973–2017, 2019–present
Number built: 4,604 (June 2018)
Variants: General Dynamics X-62 VISTA
Developed into:
Vought Model 1600
General Dynamics F-16XL
Mitsubishi F-2
Lockheed F-21
Crew: 1 (F-16A/C/E) / 2 (F-16B/D/F)
Variants: A, B, C, D, E, F
Dimensions:
Length 15.05 m
Height 5 m
Wingspan 9.45 m
Weight:
Empty weight: 11,000 kg
max. weight: 16,057 kg
Power source:
Engine(s): 1× F100-PW-220e
Thrust: 129 kN
Performance:
Top speed: 2414 km/h
Flight range: 2700 km
Service ceiling: 17,000 (practice 15,240) m
Armament:
Guns: 1× M61A-1 20 mm gatling gun (multi-barreled)
Suspension points: 9
Pictures:
EAF F-16C block 40 #9951 and #9969 in clean configuration over the Egyptian coastline [EAF photo]
Egypt AF #9951 & #9952 [LMTAS photo]