Members of Egypt's armed forces have left to Russia to take part in joint military drills with Russian and Belarusian air troops that start on Tuesday, Egypt's military said in a statement. Egyptian paratroopers and Russian and Belarusian airborne forces will take part in the military training exercises which run until 29 August, the army said on Tuesday. The 'Protectors of Friendship-4' exercises involve light, medium and heavy airdrop of personnel, equipment and vehicles. Egypt hopes the training will help "enhance the skills of its forces…and unify combat concepts and teamwork," the statement added. The previous joint military drills between Egypt and Russia, Protectors of Friendship-3, were held in Cairo in October 2018. Egypt has carried out similar military exercises with a number of countries over the past years including the US, France, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Jordan, and Bahrain.