Coming on the heels of recent F-16 aircraft and Apache gunship deliveries to Egypt, U.S. Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James concluded a visit to Cairo yesterday focused on military cooperation and future military training opportunities.  “I had very helpful conversations with Defense Minister Sobhy and others on where we should focus our cooperation next now that we have completed the delivery to Egypt of the F-16 fighter jets,” said Secretary James.  “We talked about how our two air forces work together to defeat terrorism and the possibility for future military training for airmen.”

In addition to Minister of Defense Sedki Sobhy, Secretary James also met yesterday with Air Marshal Younes al Masry and Chief of Staff Mahmoud Hegazy.  The U.S. Embassy’s Senior Defense Official Major General Charles Hooper joined Secretary James in discussing cooperation between the U.S. and Egyptian air forces.  Their conversations also addressed the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, which both Egypt and the United States have vehemently condemned.   

Secretary James’s visit to Egypt is part of a regional tour and follows trips to Iraq, Kuwait, the UAE, and Qatar in an effort to increase security cooperation to combat terrorism.  “The coalition is making progress in the fight on Daesh,” Secretary James said, adding, “Our ultimate goal is to degrade and destroy Daesh.”

The United States delivered eight F-16 Block II “Fighting Falcons” to Egypt in July and four more on October 29 to total 12 new F-16s.  These deliveries are a part of the broad range of military cooperation between the United States and Egypt aimed at confronting terrorism in the region and increasing regional stability.