According to a secret Egyptian Air Force report, leaked in Brussels, only 40 percent of Egypt’s weapons and 40-65 percent of its aircraft are in a state of combat readiness despite President Anwar Sadat’s repeated anti-Israel belligerency. According to unconfirmed reports from Brussels, the survey, carried out earlier this year, blames poor maintenance, inadequate handling and a shortage of spare parts from the Soviet Union, the reports said.
An Egyptian military delegation to Moscow, which returned home last week, reportedly persuaded the USSR to resume shipment of spare parts, suspended in July when Soviet advisors were expelled from Egypt. The secret study, according to the Brussels reports, says that another 20 percent of Egypt’s weapons can be repaired when the spare parts arrive, but that the remaining 40 percent are beyond repair.
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