Egypt Celebrates 40 Years of Operation of F-16s, Fourth Largest Country Using Fighting Falcons

Egypt Celebrates 40 Years of Operation of F-16s, Fourth Largest Country Using Fighting Falcons


As two friendly countries, there are some similarities in the tastes of defense equipment between Egypt and Indonesia. For example in the air dimension, Egypt and Indonesia (will) rely on the capabilities of the Dassault Rafale multirole fighter jet. 

Not only that, the two countries are also long-time users of the F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jet, precisely since the production of the "Eagle Fighter" is still held by General Dynamics. And on May 25, 2022, the Egyptian Air Force, celebrates 40 years of operation of the F-16.

Quoted from sis.gov.eg, the Egyptian Air Force commemorates the 40th anniversary of the service of the F-16 fighter jets delivered as part of the "Peace Vector" program. At that time, the F-16 was present as a replacement for the F-4 Phantom fleet. The special event was also attended by officials from Lockheed Martin and senior officials from the US Embassy in Egypt.


Although the relationship between Egypt and the US has had its ups and downs, there is something unique about Egypt's profile as an F-16 user. Egypt is the fourth largest country using the F-16 Fighting Falcon. If Indonesia only operates tens of units, then Egypt operates 240 units of F-16s.

Peace Vector I

Historically, in addition to bringing the Mirage-2000 package from France, on June 25, 1980, Egypt signed a contract to acquire 42 F-16 A/B Blok 15 units consisting of 34 single-seaters and 8 two-seaters. The procurement of the F-16 A/B is under the Peace Vector I program through the FMS (Foreign Military Sales) mechanism.

The first F-16s were received by the Al Quwwat al Jawwiya Ilmisriya (Egypt Air Force) during a ceremony in Fort Worth in January 1982, with the first six aircraft arriving in Egypt on March 16 of that year. The F-16B #9207 is somewhat remarkable, as it was built by Fokker in the Netherlands. In 1997, all Block15 aircraft were modified to the Blok42 standard.

Peace Vector II

Egypt then ordered an additional 40 F-16C/D (34 C and six D) with the capability to launch AIM-7 Sparrow air-to-air missiles. The fighter jet uses a Blok32 engine, and is a few examples of the F-16C/D being built that is compatible with the AIM-7 Sparrow. 

Peace Vector II


In October 1986, the first F-16Cs arrived in Egypt under the Peace Vector II. The 242nd Regiment at Beni Suef began operating the F-16C/D in October 1986. In 1997, all Blok32 aircraft were modified to Blok42.


Peace Vector III

In June 1990, Egypt signed an order for 35 Blok40 F-16Cs and 12 Blok40 F-16Ds, powered by General Electric F110 turbofan engines. The first F-16 Peace Vector III was delivered to Egypt in October 1991.

Peace Vector IV

A contract to produce 46 Blok40 F-16C/D units for the Egyptian Air Force was worked out by Turkey Aerospace Industries (TAI). 34 of them will be the F-16C and 12 will be the F-16D. This was done under the auspices of the Peace Vector IV program, and marked the first sale of a foreign-made Fighting Falcon to a third-party country in the history of the F-16 program.

Peace Vector V

In May 1996, Egypt and the US signed a contract for the supply of 21 F-16C/D Block40 units. The contract is worth US$670 million. It was Egypt's fifth F-16 order in the last fifteen years. The new Egyptian aircraft will be manufactured in Fort Worth. Deliveries began in 1999. The engine is a General Electric F110-GE100B. Egypt will use the new production F-16s as well as modern F-16s to maintain self-defense capabilities.

Peace Vector VI

In February 1999, the US and Egyptian Governments nearly announced approval for the sale of 24 new F-16s to the Egyptian Air Force. Financing for sales is done through the FMS program. Once the US Embassy in Egypt has finished writing the official letter of offer and acceptance, the deal can be announced to Congress. 

Congress did not oppose the deal, as Egypt has already taken delivery of 196 aircraft, and the other 24 would not change the balance of power in the region.


Peace Vector VII

On December 24, 2009, the US signed a contract with Egypt for the delivery of 20 new F-16s. Notification to Congress had already occurred the previous October. With this new order, the number of F-16s delivered to Egypt has increased to 240 units.

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