F-16 Fighting Falcon in Egypt
Mon, 2006-12-11 01:29 | 
Ace
On June 25, 1980, Egypt signed a letter of agreement to acquire 40 Block 15 F-16A/B fighters (34 A single-seaters and 8 B two-seaters) under the Peace Vector FMS program. The first F-16 was accepted by Egypt in a ceremony at Fort Worth in January of 1982, with the first six planes arriving in Egypt in March of that year.
Under Peace Vector II, Egypt ordered 40 F-16C/Ds (34 Cs and six Ds) with AIM-7 Sparrow capability. These were Block 32 machines, and were one of the few examples of F-16C/Ds being built that were compatible with the AIM-7 Sparrow. First F-16C/D deliveries were in October of 1986, the 242nd Regiment at Beni Suef being the first to be equipped with the type.
In June of 1990, Egypt signed an order for 35 Block 40 F-16Cs and 12 Block 40 F-16Ds. These were to be powered by the General Electric F110 turbofan. This order was under Peace Vector III, and these planes were intended to equip two squadrons as well as to make up for attrition. The first Peace Vector III F-16s were delivered to Egypt in October of 1991.
A contract to produce 46 Block 40 F-16C/Ds for the Egyptian Air Force was placed with TUSAS Aerospace Industries (TAI) of Turkey. 34 of them were F-16Cs, 12 were F-16Ds. This was carried out under the auspices of the Peace Vector IV program, and marked the first sale of a foreign-built Fighting Falcon to a third-party nation in the history of the F-16 program. All but one of the earlier F-16s for Egypt had originated on the Lockheed/General Dynamics production line at Fort Worth. The first TAI-built aircraft was delivered to Egypt in early 1994. For formal bureaucratic reasons dealing with the rules and regulations under which the Foreign Military Sales program operates, TAI is not allowed to deliver F-16s directly to Egypt. Instead, the aircraft are initially delivered to the USAF, which then turns them over to Egypt.
Under Peace Vector V of May 1996, 21 Block 40 F-16Cs were ordered. Deliveries began in November of 1999, and should continue until 2002.
As part of Peace Vector V, GBU-15 and AGM-84 capability will be integrated into
all of Egypt's earlier F-16Cs.
Another dozen Block 40 F-16Cs and an equal number of F-16Ds were ordered in August 1999 under Peace Vector VI. This raises overall F-16 Egyptian orders to 220, including 60 F-16Ds. The Peace Vector VI planes will be powered by General Electric F110-GE-100B turbofans and will be equipped with the Northrop Grumman AN/APG-88(V) fire control radar.
Four wings of the Egyptian Air Force now operate the F-16. 34 F-16As and six F-16Bs from Peace Vector I are at Genaclis. 34 F-16Cs and six F-16Ds from Peace Vector II are with the Beni Sueif Wing. 35 F-16Cs and 12 F-16Ds from Peace Vector III are with Abu Sueir Wing. Egypt will have received a total of 175 Fighting Falcons by the time all the TAI machines have been delivered. By 1997, all of Egypt's Block 15 and 32 aircraft had been brought up to Block 42 standards.
Since Egyptian Air Force F-16s were acquired under Foreign Military Sales, they carry USAF serial numbers for administrative purpose. In service, they carry a four-digit EAF serial number on their vertical tails.
Serials of Egyptian Air Force F-16s:
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80-0639/0641 |
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General Dynamics F-16A |
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80-0642/0643 |
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General Dynamics F-16A |
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80-0642/0643 |
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General Dynamics F-16A |
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80-0644/0647 |
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General Dynamics F-16B |
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80-0648 |
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General Dynamics F-16B |
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81-0643/0644 |
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General Dynamics F-16A |
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81-0645/0647 |
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General Dynamics F-16A |
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81-0648/0650 |
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General Dynamics F-16A |
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81-0651/0653 |
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General Dynamics F-16A |
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81-0654/0657 |
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General Dynamics F-16A |
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81-0658/0661 |
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General Dynamics F-16A |
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81-0662 |
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General Dynamics F-16B |
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81-0883 |
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General Dynamics F-16B |
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82-1042/1045 |
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General Dynamics F-16B |
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82-1056/1057 |
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General Dynamics F-16A |
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82-1058/1060 |
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General Dynamics F-16A 9327 crashed May 15, 1995 |
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82-1061/1063 |
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General Dynamics F-16A |
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82-1064/1065 |
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General Dynamics F-16A |
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84-1332 |
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General Dynamics F-16C |
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84-1333/1339 |
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General Dynamics F-16C |
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84-1340/1343 |
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General Dynamics F-16D |
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84-1344/1345 |
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General Dynamics F-16D |
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85-1518/1523 |
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General Dynamics F-16C |
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85-1524/1543 |
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General Dynamics F-16C Block 32B Fighting Falcon for Egypt as 9515/9534 |
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90-0899/0907 |
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General Dynamics F-16C |
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90-0908/0922 |
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General Dynamics F-16C |
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90-0923/0930 |
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General Dynamics F-16C |
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90-0931/0934 |
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General Dynamics F-16D |
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90-0935/0936 |
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General Dynamics F-16D |
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90-0937 |
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General Dynamics F-16D |
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90-0953 |
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General Dynamics F-16C |
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90-0954 |
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General Dynamics F-16D |
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90-0955/0958 |
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General Dynamics F-16D |
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93-485/487 |
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Lockheed F-16C Block 40Q |
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93-488/512 |
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Lockheed F-16C Block 40R |
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93-513/516 |
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Lockheed F-16D Block 40N |
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93-517/524 |
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Lockheed F-16D Block 40P |
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93-525/530 |
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Lockheed F-16C Block 40R |
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96-086/106 |
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Lockheed Martin F-16C |
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99-105/116 |
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Lockheed Martin F-16C |
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99-117/128 |
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Lockheed Martin F-16D |
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