Egyptian military can't play ball over helicopter's Israeli technology

摘要

The Egyptian Air Force is currently sounding out military engineering firms for a rather sensitive contract. It involves equipping a fleet of 20 Mi-24 helicopters with sophisticated navigation and targeting equipment. The problem is that the Egyptians are refusing to share some of the software specifications of the equipment that's already installed on the aircraft, especially the optronic balls. This information is crucial for matching the systems already in place on the helicopters with the new equipment that Cairo wants to purchase. In addition, this new equipment is pretty sophisticated. It includes an infrared signature suppressor, an anti-tank missile with a range of 8km, a machine gun in the turret, as well as a counter measure dispensing system and an embedded GPS inertial system.