Training drill between Egyptian, French naval forces launches

CAIRO – 19 February 2018: A joint naval exercise between the Egyptian and French forces, named “Cleopatra 2018”, kicked off on Tuesday, February 20 until Friday, February 23.


‘Cleopatra 2018’ joint naval exercise between the Egyptian and French forces – Press Photo

The exercise comes as part of the Egyptian naval forces’ annual exercise plan. It reflects the deep and strong relations between the two countries and their cooperation, said an official statement issued Monday.

The Cleopatra 2018 exercise also comes in conjunction with the Egyptian navy’s participation in Comprehensive Operation Sinai 2018 announced by the army on February 9 to purge the country from terrorism.

In 2018, both the Egyptian and French forces also conducted a joint exercise in the Mediterranean and the Red seas, code-named Cleopatra 2017. The exercise lasted for four days during July 2017 and included Egypt’s helicopter carriers “Gamal Abdel Nasser” and “Anwar El-Sadat”.

According to the official statement issued then, the exercises comprised the implementation of sailing information, dealing with hostile targets with high efficiency through many marine units and vessels, and practicing inspections on suspicious ships.



‘Cleopatra 2018’ joint naval exercise between the Egyptian and French forces – Press Photo


There have been exercises on all stages of collision in open water, securing the vessels participating in the training by air defense weapons, and marine landing of soldiers and equipment on the coast using different landing craft utilities.

Soldiers participating were trained on signals for offensive and defensive situations and on dealing with emergency situations with high efficiency. The drills aimed at honing skills and combat capabilities of the naval forces of both sides.

The military exercises also came in light of the two sides' keenness to continue boosting bilateral relations at the military level.