Egypt prepares to develop Turkish stealth fighter jet
Egypt is preparing to join Turkey’s project to develop the KAAN stealth fighter jet amid increasing regional instability, according to The Arab Weekly plus agencies on August 18th.
The move signifies a major step in military cooperation between Cairo and Ankara, who also recently boosted bilateral ties in the transport sector to establish efficient trade routes that link Asia, Africa and Europe.
Egypt and Turkey, alongside various other regional powers, are seeking to curtail United States-endorsed Israeli expansionism in the Middle East. Ankara’s KAAN stealth fighter jet project demonstrates an understanding that the prospect of unilateral actions by external powers to redraw the Middle East are at odds with security and strategic interests.
Egypt also understands that recent regional developments jeopardises its stability. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on August 12th said that he is on a “historic and spiritual mission” in pursuit of a “Greater Israel”, an expansionist vision that would see Israel fully annex the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula, among portions of other sovereign states.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry condemned Netanyahu’s explicitly hostile fantasy by declaring that it reflects a hawkish fervour towards Israel’s neighbours. During Israel’s 12-day war with Iran in June, Israel demonstrated aerial dominance over its long-time geopolitical adversary, compounding the sense of threat.
Such aerial supremacy would have been duly noted by the entire region, including Turkey and Egypt. The KAAN stealth fighter jet project offers the opportunity to dramatically redistribute the aerospace balance of power across the Middle East and act as a deterrent against Israeli aggression.
However, Egypt’s aspirations to enhance its military capabilities long precede this most recent iteration of Israeli provocation. Speaking to The New Arab, former chief of staff of the Egyptian Air Force, General Hassan Rashid, explained that Cairo’s drive to co-develop the KAAN stealth fighter jet is largely motivated by the desire to catalyse its own military industrial complex, a vision dating back to the 1960s.
He added that “joint manufacturing with Turkey will be a very positive step because it will be so beneficial for the Egyptian Armed Forces”.
Moreover, the move signals Egypt’s ongoing effort to diversify its military supply. Cairo sees an excessive reliance on a single arms supplier as strategically naïve, opting instead to draw from numerous sources to reduce its defensive vulnerability to political pressure. This defensive strategy is aptly highlighted by Cairo’s increasing military cooperation with Russia and, in particular, China.
Egypt initially showed interest in the KAAN development programme after President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi visited Ankara in September. An Egyptian Air Force delegation was subsequently sent to Turkey in May with the mandate of expanding military cooperation in training, knowledge transfer and experience-sharing.
The KAAN stealth fighter jet possesses numerous specialised specifications such as speedy strike potential, strong manoeuvrability, radar stealth, AI-assisted systems, and advanced air-to-ground and air-to-air combat capacities.
The boost in military ties also comes amid an ongoing reconciliation between the two nations following years of strain which was largely due to Turkey’s backing of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group proscribed as a terrorist organisation in Egypt.
But Turkish authorities also arrested a prominent leader of the Brotherhood who was wanted in Egypt, signalling a growing commitment to mending bilateral ties.
Defence Security Asia reported on August 7th that the stealth fighter jet cooperation highlights the growing bilateral ties between Ankara and Cairo following ten years of political tensions.
The Arab Weekly plus agencies, Maghrebi.org, The New Arab, Defence Security Asia
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