WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of State has approved the potential sale of 720 Stinger missiles to Egypt for $740 million, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.

The missiles have been in hot demand in Ukraine, where they have successfully stopped Russian assaults from the air, and in neighboring European countries which fear they may also need to beat back Russian forces.

Egypt would put the Stingers on vehicles equipped with the Avenger launcher system versus a shoulder-fired launcher.

The principal contractor will be RTX Corp, the Pentagon said.

This summer several NATO members placed an order for nearly $700 million worth of the missiles. That order extended the production lines’ order backlog through 2029. Egypt’s order adds to that.

(Reporting by Jasper Ward and Mike Stone; Editing by Eric Beech)