By Sarah Saad
Egypt’s Defense Minister Mohamed Zaki witnessed on Friday the final stage of the joint Egypt-US military exercise Bright Star 2023 that was held at Mohamed Naguib Military Base in Egypt with the participation of 800 troops from 19 countries.
The military exercise included observers from 15 other countries in addition to the participation of civil police and a number of legal experts from the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Among the countries that are participating in the exercise taking place on Egypt’s North Coast and other naval bases and air bases across the country are Saudi Arabia, Greece, the UAE, Oman, Jordan, the UK, Greece, Cyprus, Pakistan, and India.
Chief of Staff Lt General Osama Askar along with other military top brass, military attaches and commanders of the armed forces of participating countries attended the final stage.
The final phase includes a tactical live ammunition shooting project during which multi-task fighters and anti-tank helicopters engaged and destroyed enemy targets. The stage also included artillery shelling on the planned targets.
At the end, the defense minister conveyed President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s regards to the participating countries, saying such exercises help enhance military cooperation and exchange expertise on the latest combat tactics.
In its 18th iteration, Bright Star is one of the longest-running exercises in the US Central Command Area of Responsibility, with the first exercise taking place in 1980.
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