U.S. Announces Plan to Sell Egypt $3.2 Billion in Weaponry

CAIRO — The United States agreed to sell Egypt $3.2 billion worth of new American weapons--24 F-16 fighter jets, 200 M-1A1 tanks and 32 Patriot missiles.

Defense Secretary William S. Cohen announced the proposed sale, which is likely to be approved by Congress, after separate talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Defense Minister Hussein Tantawi in Cairo.

It was the latest of several arms offers by Cohen to Arab allies while on a nine-nation trip to the Gulf and Middle East.

The 24 F-16 fighters, made by Lockheed Martin, would cost $1.2 billion and would supplement the 196 F-16s already in Egypt’s air force.

The battery of Patriot-3 missiles, which would cost $1.3 billion, consists of eight firing units, each containing four missiles, and is made by Raytheon.

The 200 tanks, costing nearly $700 million, would be assembled in Egypt, joining the 555 such tanks Cairo already has.

Cohen told reporters that Egypt would “feel insulted” if its request for the weapons was denied and might then turn to other suppliers.

Cohen said Egypt would pay for the arms from the $1.2 billion a year it gets in U.S. military aid.