 Development of the Egyptian HA-300 started in the test facilities and workshops in Factory No.36 in Helwan, southeast of Cairo, under the supervision of the Egyptian General Aero Organisation (EGAO), beginning officially in 1959.The first prototype of the HA-300, powered by a 2,200 kgp Bristol Siddeley Orpheus 703-S-10, first flew on 7 March 1964, and achieved Mach 1.13.