Commander of the Egyptian Air Force Lieutenant General Younes Al-Sayed Al-Masry and Acting Commander of the Saudi Royal Air Force Major General Mohamed bin Saleh Al-Otaibi attended the closing ceremony to mark the completion of the Faisal 11 military manoeuvres. After inspecting participating forces the two commanders listened to a detailed explanation of the training tasks. The two men lauded the outstanding performance, expertise and preparedness the participants displayed at every stage of the manoeuvres. The first stage of the exercises involved tasks designed to unify military doctrines and facilitate the exchange of aerial combat expertise. The pilots executed joint sorties, honing their own skills and the rapid response capacities of the command and control groups. Al-Masry and Al-Otaibi also observed the concluding stage of the exercises which involved offensive and defensive operations using live ammunition. Multi-purpose Rafale, F-16 and Mirage 2000 fighter planes from Egypt and Saudi Arabian F-15s took part in the exercises, carrying out aerial defence and interception missions against hostile targets in simulated attacks against vital installations. The final stage closed with an aerial display featuring joint formations of the planes from both sides. Al-Masry conveyed the greetings of Colonel General Sedki Sobhi, commander general of the Armed Forces and minister of defence and war production, to the participating Saudi forces and stressed the Egyptian Armed Forces' keenness to strengthen cooperation through joint military exercises. The Egyptian army, he said, is determined to develop and modernise the combat capacities of the Air Force and praised the level of coordination and collaboration achieved between the two sides. Underscoring the importance of joint training with friendly nations, Al-Masry stressed how such exercises can contribute to combat preparedness and efficiency. He concluded with a salute to the commander of the Saudi Arabian Royal Air Force and all participants in the manoeuvres, and extolled the heightened commitment of both Egypt and Saudi Arabia to working together to eliminate terrorism and protect stability in the Middle East. Al-Otaibi expressed his pride in the level of cooperation and coordination with the Egyptian air force which had provided all the facilities necessary to ensure the success of the manoeuvres and realise their aims. He praised Egypt's efforts to eliminate terrorism and lauded the role Egypt is playing in working with and supporting its Arab allies in order to provide security and stability for all the peoples in the region.
