The US State Department has approved a possible Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to Egypt of National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced on 24 July 2025.
The proposed FMS, which is worth an estimated USD 4.67 billion (EUR 4.09 billion), has been passed to the US Congress for final approval.
In relation to its NASAMs purchase Egypt has requested to buy four AN/MPQ-64F1 Sentinel radar systems with associated support equipment; 100 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM)-Extended Range (ER) rounds; 100 AIM-120C-8 AMRAAMs; two AIM-120C-8 AMRAAM guidance sections (spares); one AMRAAM control section (spare); 600 AIM-9X Sidewinder Block II tactical missiles; 150 AIM-9X Sidewinder captive air training missiles (CATMs); 62 AIM-9X Sidewinder Block II tactical guidance units; and 20 AIM-9X Sidewinder CATM guidance units.
Also included in the package are fire distribution centres; canister launcher systems; electro-optical/infrared systems; encryption systems; other non-Major Defense Equipment items; and various aspects of engineering, technical, training, logistics and programme support.
The DSCA stated that the proposed sale “will improve Egypt’s capability to meet current and future threats by improving its ability to detect various air threats”.
The Egyptian armed forces are not current users of the NASAMS system, with a surface-to-air missile inventory that is largely a mix of Soviet-designed systems and older US systems.
The prime contractor for the proposed FMS will be RTX Corporation out of its facilities in Andover, Massachusetts.
