The State Department announced on Friday the possible sale of two light attack aircraft to Iraq to help that country’s fledgling air force take on al Qaeda and Islamic State militants, and the sale of missile warning systems to Egypt.
The possible sale to Iraq involves Cessna AC-208 Combat Caravan aircraft, which fire Hellfire missiles, for a total value of $65.3 million. If the deal goes through, the two planes would join Iraq’s three AC-208s and three C-208 aircraft. The principal contractor is Orbital ATK.
“This proposed sale contributes to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a strategic partner,” said a statement from the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, which delivered the certification to Congress on Thursday. “This proposed sale directly supports Iraq and serves the interests of the people of Iraq and the United States.”
State also approved the sale of 67 common missile warning systems to Egypt. The systems would be used on AH-64E Apache attack helicopters, UH-60 Black Hawks and CH-47 Chinook helicopters. The estimated cost is $84.1 million.
“The proposed sale of the CMWS will equip the Egyptian Air Force’s fleet of multimission helicopters with a detection system for infrared missile threats,” the statement said. “Egypt will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment into its armed forces.”
The prime contractors are BAE Systems and DynCorp.
