Joseph Rank, Brigadier General (ret.), Chief Executive, Lockheed Martin – Saudi Arabia and Africa at the Lockheed Martin booth at EDEX 2023.
With an aim to expand its business in the Middle East and Africa, US defence major Lockheed Martin marks a strong presence at EDEX 2023, Cairo. Lockheed Martin has had a presence in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regions for decades and EDEX will be yet another platform that strengthens the ties.
Egypt’s President and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi interacted with the officials of Lockheed during his visit to the expo hall after inaugurating EDEX on Monday. This further shows Egypt’s strong relationship with Lockheed.
Joseph Rank, Brigadier General (ret.), Chief Executive, Lockheed Martin – Saudi Arabia and Africa, told Arabian Defence that EDEX is a critical show for Lockheed that allows interaction with its partners in the Africa and Middle East. Rank said military cooperation between Egypt and the US has been a fundamental component of the strategic partnership for almost 40 years.
“It is a venue of much value to display our products and partner with the countries in the MENA region for security and prosperity. MENA region is among our top 3 customers and we constantly look forward to expanding our presence here, Rank said.
In Egypt, Lockheed is mainly focusing on the plan to upgrade the F-16 Fighting Falcon fleet of the North African nation. Talks were revived between Egypt and Lockheed Martin to upgrade the Egyptian Air Force’s F-16 fleet. Egypt will be benefiting from Lockheed Martin’s expertise in numerous fields, and both Lockheed and Egypt look forward to a strategic partnership that would benefit both sides regarding advanced defence systems.
“Egypt has over 200 F-16s, which makes it one of the top customers of the fighter aircraft. We have manufactured four ships for Egypt and we are planning to upgrade them. Similarly, Lockheed is in talks with the Egyptian forces regarding the purchase of more C-130 Hercules transport aircraft. Also, Lockheed has provided helicopters, Fast Missile Crafts, etc. So we look forward to helping Egypt in the modernization of its Armed Forces,” Rank said.
The Egyptian Air Force (EAF) has operated versions of the Hercules since 1976, when the first of a batch of 20 C-130Hs was delivered. With more C-130s in the pipeline, it will be a big boost for Egypt.
In the recent meeting between Lockheed Martin and Egypt’s Ministry of Military Production, they tackled cooperation in manufacturing C6ISR systems (command, control, communication, computers, cyber defence, combative and reconnaissance systems) as well as cooperation in software development and engineering.
Along with physical defence products and technological solutions, Lockheed Martin also works with its MENA partners across several capacity-building programs that are formulated to assist the region with their development goals as they navigate an increasingly complex world.
