Foreign Correspondence

[Amaunet]

Egypt Examines Chinese UAVs


LONDON [MENL] -- Egypt's military has been examining the prospect of procuring unmanned aerial vehicles from China.

Western defense sources said Egypt's air force and army have been briefed by the Chinese government on its newly-developed UAVs. The sources said the Chinese UAVs were being offered to Egypt at less than half of the price of a comparative Western system.

The marketing effort has been undertaken by China National Aero Technology Import and Export Corp. CATIC has also marketed fighter-jets and trainers to Egypt's air force. Cairo has been coproducing China's K-8 air trainer in a project meant to procure 80 such platforms for the Egyptian Air Force.

The sources said Egypt was one of several African and Middle East countries targeted by CATIC in efforts to develop a UAV clientele. Other countries included Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The militaries of Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have also been briefed by CATIC.

http://www.menewsline.com/stories/2004/october/10_22_3.html