Egypt is in advanced talks with China to purchase 12 J-10 Vigorous Dragon multirole combat fighter jets. The talks started last year and are expected to continue at the International Maritime and Aeronautical Exhibition in Malaysia later this week.
The J-10 is a fourth-generation combat aircraft capable of flying at a maximum speed of 2,327 km/h at high altitudes. Egypt's purchase of the J-10s is likely to anger the United States, which is a traditional security partner and provider of $1.3 billion in military aid annually to Egypt.
Egypt has also ignored Western sanctions against Russia amid its ongoing campaign in neighboring Ukraine. In February, leaked US secret documents revealed that President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi secretly planned to produce 40,000 rockets for Russia. Egyptian authorities denied the report and brushed aside any alleged involvement in the crisis between Russia and Ukraine.
Egypt's purchase of the J-10s and its alleged plans to produce rockets for Russia are likely to further strain relations between Egypt and the United States. In recent years, Egypt has sought to diversify its sources of weapons, especially the air force, which relies mainly on American F-16 fighters. For reasons related to allegations of human rights violations in Egypt, the United States of America has more than once rejected requests to supply Egypt with advanced fighters or to upgrade Egyptian F-16 fighters. This forced the Egyptian administration to purchase 24 fourth-generation ++ fighters of France's Dassault Rafale fighters, as well as Russian multi-role MiG-29 fighters. Egypt had intended to buy 5 Russian Su-35 fighters for air superiority, but the deal was canceled after American pressure and promises with providing F-15s instead.
