"Egypt may get the first of two Russian Sukhoi-35 fighter jets out of 26 fighter jets," Russian expert website Expert Online said.
Despite an outright American blackmail and direct threat to Egypt, Cairo has contracted with Moscow to buy 26 Sukhoi-35 fighter jets and exports will begin next year, according to an article by military aviation expert Alexei Khazbiyev.
The article pointed out that the Egyptian authorities are not at all afraid of this threat apparently, citing statements by Egyptian Defense Minister Mohamed Ahmed Zaki, in which he stressed Egypt's desire to continue military cooperation with Russia.
According to the writer Alexei Khazbiyev, the Egyptian embassy in Moscow said that "the purchase of Russian weapons is a strategic issue and will be resolved regardless of any pressure from abroad, because it fully meets the national interests of the country."
"By mid-2023, Cairo should receive the last batch of these fighter jets, which will be squadrons from the Egyptian Air Force."
US warnings
The US administration has repeatedly warned the Egyptian authorities against buying Russian fighter jets, saying it would put them at risk of US sanctions.
The Wall Street Journal said the US secretaries of state and defense had urged Egyptian Defense Minister Mohamed Zaki, in a written letter, to drop a deal to buy Russian Su-35 fighter jets.
The signing of the contract will complicate the future of US military support and security assistance to Egypt, according to a letter from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Mark Esper last Wednesday.
Pentagon officials also warned the Egyptian air force commander personally about the possible consequences of completing the deal.
In April, Pompeo promised Egypt sanctions if they bought the fighter jets from Russia.``We have made it clear that if we buy these systems, by law, this will require sanctions on the regime, '' he told a Senate Foreign Operations Appropriations subcommittee.
The Sukhoi-35 is a fourth-generation, high-quality single-pilot fighter that allows a range of devices on board to carry out its missions with a high degree of accuracy, so that it can track 30 targets and simultaneously attack eight air targets or two ground targets.
The Sukhoi-35 entered military service in 2015, and outperforms those in the world such as the French Rafale F-16.
The Sukhoi-35 has a 14.5-ton engine with nozzle guided technology, a takeoff weight of 34,500 kilograms, a speed of 2125 kilometers per hour, equipped with radar that detects the air target 400 kilometers away, an intelligent electronic system, and carrying air-to-air guided bombs. Air-to-ground, unguided bombs, and a thirty millimeter cannon.