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The armed forces of Egypt are among the largest in the region, consisting of the Egyptian Army, Egyptian Navy, Egyptian Air Force and Egyptian Air Defense Command. Egypt maintains a large paramilitary force under the control of the Ministry of Interior. They number around 250,000 strong and are known as the Central Security Forces. The government also has a relatively strong National Guard and Border Security Forces however they unlike the Central Security Forces come under the control of the Ministry of Defence and are reported to number 60,000 and 20,000 respectively. The Commander-in-Chief is Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi. The Chief of Staff is Lt. Gen. Sami Hafez Enan. The armed forces inventory includes equipment from the United States, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, the former Soviet Union, and the People's Republic of China. Equipment from the former Soviet Union is being progressively replaced by more modern American, French, and British equipment, a significant portion of which is built under license in Egypt, such as the M1 Abrams tank. To bolster stability and moderation in the region, Egypt has provided military assistance and training to a number of African and Arab states. Although not a NATO member, Egypt remains a strong military and strategic partner and is a participant in NATO's Mediterranean Dialogue forum. It is the strongest military power in Africa, and the strongest in the Middle East.
Air Force Main article: Egyptian Air Force The Egyptian Air Force or EAF (Arabic: القوات الجوية المصرية al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya il-Misriya) is the aviation branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces. Currently, the backbone of the EAF is the F-16. The Mirage 2000 is the other modern interceptor used by the EAF. It has over 579 combat aircraft and 121 armed helicopters as it continues to fly MiG-21s, F-7 Skybolts, F-4 Phantom, Il-28, Dassault Mirage Vs, and C-130 Hercules among other planes. Navy Main article: Egyptian Navy Although the Egyptian Navy is the smallest branch of the military, it is large by Middle Eastern standards. It has a total of 20,000 personnel. Some fleet units are stationed in the Red Sea, but the bulk of the force remains in the Mediterranean. Navy headquarters and the main operational and training base are located at Ras at Tin near Alexandria. See list of naval ships of Egypt for a list of vessels in service. Paramilitary Forces Paramilitary Forces number around 330,000 and consist of the Central Security Forces, the National Guard, the Border Guard Forces and the Coast Guard. Military Schools There is an undergraduate military school for each branch of the Egyptian Military establishment, and they include: See also | ||||||||
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