May 7, 2011:
As part of military aid to Egypt, the U.S. Army is buying two AW130 helicopters for the Egyptian Air Force. The two choppers will be built by Agusta Westland North America, in the United States, and cost $19 million each. AW130s are most frequently used for search and rescue work. These are six ton aircraft with a max speed of 300 kilometers an hour, endurance of about three hours and capacity for 15 passengers. The U.S. Army is handling the purchase because the money for the AW130s comes from the military aid (over a billion dollars a year) Egypt receives from the United States.