Egypt’s Ministry of Defense and Military Production has announced significant progress in its ambitions to increase collaboration between the military and Egyptian industry.
As of June 2024, the ministry had upgraded more than seven armaments factories, equipping them with state-of-the-art machinery and systems. These factories include the Armored Production and Repair Factory, Heliopolis Chemical Industries Company and Urea-Formaldehyde Company.
To this end, the ministry requires foreign contractors to transfer technology and train Egyptian technicians so that components of imported equipment can be manufactured in Egypt.
For example, when Egypt signed a contract with South Korean company Hanwha Defense to acquire K9A1 Thunder self-propelled 155 mm howitzers, the agreement stipulated that parts of the weapon be made in Egypt.
According to a production plan, Egyptians should be able to produce about 67% of the howitzers’ parts locally. When entering local production phase, Egyptian factories would be ready to produce tracked armored vehicles carrying howitzers, ammunition resupply vehicles, fire control vehicles, artillery gun barrels, and sensitive optical, electric, and electronic systems.
Egypt aspires to be a regional hub to produce the 155 mm self-propelled artillery. “We have begun negotiations with a number of Arab and African countries wishing to acquire the [Egyptian-made] K9A1 howitzer,” Minister of Military Production Muhammed Salah Mustafa said.
Military commercial ventures in Egypt fall under one of three main bodies: The Ministry of Military Production, the Ministry of Defense and the government-owned Arab Organization for Industrialization. Sources: defensenews.com, aboutmsr.com, beiruttimes.com, Reuters