Contingents from the Egyptian naval and air forces left for Greece on Sunday to take part in the Egyptian-Greek military manoeuvres code-named "Medusa 2016". The exercises, which will take place from 8 to 12 December, are part of a plan for joint training exercises with the armed forces of friendly and brotherly nations. Activities planned for the joint drills will cover planning and management of joint naval operations, implementing naval formations under day time and night time conditions, carrying out interception and search and rescue operations, communications exchanges between naval units and ships, and a range of other training exercises at sea. Egyptian air force units together with their Greek counterparts will take part in several joint exercises which will include planning and command and control activities and carrying out joint offensive and defensive operations using state-of-the-art aerial tactics. The drills are a manifestation of the growing military partnership and cooperation between the Egyptian and Greek armed forces and their collaborative efforts in the face of the mounting challenges in the Mediterranean region. Two weeks ago Egypt completed a round of joint military drills with Jordan. The Aqaba 2016 manoeuvres engaged diverse military formations. Activities included sophisticated anti-terrorist missions carried out by the Special Forces of the two countries in tandem with simulated raids against coastal targets carried out by Egyptian and Jordanian naval units. The latter was performed by marine frogmen and commandos using high-speed motor launches. Another simulated activity involved the interception of a commercial vessel that had been attacked and commandeered by a terrorist group and in which commando forces used high-speed vessels in the approach and boarding operation. The exercises demonstrated the high calibre of the soldiers in both the Egyptian and Jordanian units who participated. Brigadier General Musleh Maaytah, head of the Jordanian Armed Forces' Training and Operations Authority, said that the aim of the military collaboration was to safeguard Egyptian and Jordanian national security. He spoke of the long and close cooperation between the two countries and the wars in which they both made "great sacrifices in the defence of Arab causes". He also lauded the Egyptian army which he described as one of the strongest armies in the world and reputed for a degree of excellence and organisation "that merits the respect and pride of all Arabs". Egypt has diversified in the manoeuvres in which it participates at the Arab and international levels. It took part in the “Eagle Salute 2016” joint naval exercise in the UAE in March and, before that, in the “North Thunder” drills in Saudi Arabia at the beginning of the year. It also took part in the “Defenders of Friendship 2016” joint counter-terrorist exercise with Russia, which was the first manoeuvre of its sort to be carried by Russia in Africa. In addition, Egypt hosted the joint Egyptian and French “Ramses 2016” military exercises in March. In 2016 alone, Egypt took part in six regional and international bilateral or multilateral manoeuvres.
