A Pentagon senior official revealed to Reuters on Wednesday that the US government would be losing billions of dollars should the Obama administration discontinue its USD1.23 billion military aid to Egypt.
Deputy director Richard Genaille of the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency, said that the US government would arrive at a decision soon to not derail weapon shipments.
"We're kind of antsy about that. There's a whole bunch of contracts out there. The bills keep coming in and we've got to be able to pay them somehow otherwise we go in default," Genaille disclosed after his speech at the ComDef industry conference in Washington.
The US government is weighing its options over its military aid and its additional USD241 economic aid after tensions in Egypt escalated. US has already halted four F-16 fighter deliveries made by Lockheed Martin Corp. On the other hand, other smaller items covered by the military aid were allowed to move forward.
Officials said that weapon sales funding should be "obligated" by September 30 or the funds will be reverted back to the Treasury. Ending contracts without fulfilling obligations would also have US pay penalties to contractors and assume costs to wind down aid programs. US officials estimated that should that scenario exist, it would cost the country over USD2 billion to USD3 billion worth of bills alone.
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