A planned US transfer of Apache Guardian attack helicopters to Egypt has prompted questions in Israeli media about what they described as Cairo’s expanding military edge.
Military experts told Asharq Al-Awsat that the deal, which Egypt has not yet announced, would strengthen defense cooperation between Cairo and Washington and help maintain a regional balance of power as Israel escalates its military operations with no prospect of near-term stability.
Israel’s Natziv Net news platform reported on Friday that the United States had approved the supply of ten advanced AH-64E Apache Guardian helicopters to the Egyptian army. Cairo has not commented on the report.
The US Department of Defense said on November 25 on its website that it had signed a 4.7 billion dollar contract with Boeing to produce AH-64E Apache Guardian helicopters for Egypt, Kuwait and Poland under the Foreign Military Sales program for fiscal year 2010, the year the contract was awarded, with deliveries to be completed by May 2032.
Natziv Net claimed that, given Egypt’s strained public finances, the helicopters might either be provided as a military grant to dissuade Cairo from turning to Russian or Chinese suppliers, or that their value could be deducted from Egypt’s annual 1.3 billion dollar US military aid package, which has been in place since the 1979 peace treaty with Israel. One dollar currently equals 47.5 Egyptian pounds.
The platform suggested the deal could revive an earlier Egyptian order dating back to 2018 that was not executed due to previous funding constraints, adding that once deliveries are completed, Egypt’s attack helicopter fleet would rise to nearly 100 aircraft, including 54 US-made Apaches and 46 Russian Kamov Ka-52s.
According to Boeing, it delivered the first AH-64A Apache to the US Army in January 1984.
Since then, the American military and other customers have received more than 2,700 AH-64 Apache attack helicopters. Boeing lists Egypt, Greece, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom among its global Apache clients.
Egypt's arms imports rose 136 percent between 2016 and 2020 compared with 2011 to 2016, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
Egyptian military and strategic affairs expert Brig. Gen. Samir Ragheb said the deal is part of ongoing efforts to modernize the Egyptian armed forces, from rifles to aircraft carriers, of which Egypt has two.
He said the military requires additional US Apaches or Russian Ka-52s, describing the Apache platform as essential for upgrading Egypt’s arsenal and for maintenance, training and supply under the revived 2010 agreement.
Another Egyptian military expert, Maj. Gen. Adel al-Omda, said Washington regards Cairo as a key factor in the region’s strategic equation and a pillar of stability.
He argued the deal enhances military cooperation and regional balance as competition and tensions intensify.
Natziv Net described Egypt’s mix of advanced Western and Eastern weapons systems as worrying from an Israeli perspective, citing concerns over shifting military balances south of Israel’s border amid uncertainty over Egypt’s long-term strategic posture.
It highlighted the AH-64E’s ability to carry out precision strikes behind obstacles, destroy armored and fortified targets and hit personnel and vehicles with high accuracy day and night and in all weather conditions.
Relations between Egypt and Israel have not seen such strain since the 1979 peace treaty as they have since the outbreak of Israel’s Gaza war on October 7, 2023.
Tensions deepened in May after Israel seized the Philadelphi Corridor on the border with Egypt, along with the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, and refused to withdraw despite Egyptian demands.
In February, then Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi voiced concern over what he called a security threat from Egypt, noting its large and well-equipped army.
He said Egypt does not pose a current threat to Israel but that circumstances could change at any time, according to Israel’s Channel 14.
In late January, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, also questioned Egypt’s arms buildup, arguing that Egypt has no threats in the region.
A month later, Egypt’s UN ambassador Osama Abdel Khalek responded that major states such as Egypt require strong, well-equipped armies to defend their national security in all its dimensions.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has reiterated, most recently during last year’s commemorations marking the fiftieth anniversary of the 1973 October War, that the strength of Egypt’s armed forces is exercised with restraint and balance, and that the country has no hidden agenda toward anyone.
Ragheb said the Apache deal strengthens Egypt’s strike capabilities and expands its diversified arsenal, adding that Israeli questions will persist and resurface with every new military purchase.
Al-Omda said Egypt is enhancing its combat readiness to counter any potential threats while also contributing to regional stability, arguing that such Israeli concerns are recurrent and familiar.
