The U.S. State Department approved the potential sale of air defense radars and 12 C-130 Super Hercules planes to Egypt in a deal worth more than $2bn (£1.4bn), the Pentagon said on Tuesday.
Other related equipment is also being sold for another $300m.
Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor for the planes, the Pentagon said.
The government of Egypt has also sought to buy three SPS-48 Land Based Radars spares, motor generators, training and associated equipment. L3Harris Technologies was the prime contractor for the radars which could cost as much as $355 million, the Pentagon said.
The Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of the possible arms sales on Tuesday.
Despite approval by the State Department, the notification does not indicate that a contract has been signed or that negotiations have concluded.
This is because U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration recently criticized Egypt’s human rights record.
In September, Washington placed on hold $130m in military aid already budgeted for Egypt over Cairo’s failure to improve the rights situation.
