Confirmation: Egypt ‘Deployed U.S.-Made Tanks, SAMs in Sinai’
Western defense sources say 20 to 30 M-60A3 tanks, Avenger SAMs and F-16s deployed along border with Israel.
By Gil Ronen
Israelnationalnews.com
8/26/2012
Egypt has deployed U.S.-made surface-to-air missiles and tanks near the border with Israel, in a breach of the 1979 peace treaty, reports the World Tribune.
Western defense sources said the Egyptian Army has deployed “a range of assets supplied by the United States.” They cited main battle tanks (MBTs) and surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), particularly in the northeastern Sinai area, between the coastal city of El Arish and the border with Israel and Gaza.
“Right now, all of the [Egyptian] heavy weapons have been deployed along the Israeli border,” a defense source said.
The U.S.-made MBTs were identified as the M-60A3, which was exported to Egypt in the 1980s. The sources told the Tribune that the Egyptian Army has deployed between 20 and 30 of these in eastern Sinai.
The Boeing-produced Avenger air defense system, also deployed near the Israeli border, contains the Stinger surface-to-air missile and was supplied to Egypt over the last five years.
The sources said Egypt has also deployed Dutch-produced YPR-765 armored personnel carriers which contain 30 mm automatic gun turrets. The Egyptian Army is believed to have about 430 such APCs.
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