CAIRO — Russia officially announced on Feb. 25 that Egypt had received five Sukhoi Su-35 advanced combat aircraft. The Russian Khabarovsk Krai region’s official media agency stated that the most important achievement of the military factory in the region was delivering the five Su-35 fighter jets to Egypt, out of the 24 jets that were agreed upon, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

On July 23, 2020, the first photos of the new Egyptian upgraded Su-35SE fighter jets were taken by journalist Andrey Neyman when five fighter jets, which represented the first batch of an Egyptian-Russian arms deal, arrived in the Russian city of Novosibirsk for refueling, according to The Drive.

Speaking at the Dubai Airshow on Nov. 18, 2019, R. Clarke Cooper, then-assistant secretary of state for political and military affairs, said the US government, represented by then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and then-Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, has sent an official letter to Egypt warning it of possible sanctions if it goes ahead with plans to purchase Russian aircraft.

Cooper said Egypt is aware of the risks it would be taking by purchasing Russian aircraft because this exposes it to possible US sanctions and threatens its future purchases of US equipment, noting Pompeo and Esper stressed that “any major new arms deal with Russia would complicate US defense and security assistance to Egypt.”