Egypt Armed Forces

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Egypt reportedly orders AW149 helicopters
by defenceWeb -
26th Apr 2019

Egypt is believed to have ordered AW149 helicopters to use aboard its naval vessels, choosing the Leonardo Helicopters product over the competing NH90.

According to France’s La Tribune, Egypt informed France last week that it had chosen the AW149, with the order believed to cover around 20 helicopters. Leonardo has neither confirmed nor denied the contract.

France was hoping to sell the NH90 to Egypt after a string of sales that has included 24 Rafale fighter jets, two Mistral class landing helicopter docks (LHDs) and four Gowind class corvettes since 2014.

Egypt was looking at acquiring 20-30 NH90 for use aboard its naval vessels but it will also fly the AW149 on land-based troop transport and search and rescue missions.

The 8.3/8.6 tonne AW149 first flew in 2009 and slots in between smaller helicopters like the AW139 and larger helicopters like the Boeing CH-47 Chinook. It was developed from the AW139, but with 40% more internal volume and more powerful engines – the aircraft is powered by two General Electric CT7-2E1 turboshafts each developing 2 000 shp. In the troop transport role the AW149 can carry 12 fully equipped soldiers or 19 passengers on crashworthy seats. Weapons options are available, including gun pods, rocket pods and guided missiles.

Leonardo says the AW149 is designed for a multitude of missions such as troop transport, re-supply/external load lift, medical and casualty evacuation, search and rescue, Special Forces operations, close air support/armed escort, command and control, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

Since its launch six years ago, Leonardo has struggled to find military customers for the AW149, with the only confirmed customer to date being the Royal Thai Army, which ordered five. The Italian military has expressed interest in the type, but no order has yet materialised – the Italian Air Force said it would buy AW149s for search and rescue but instead opted for the lighter AW139M.

The civil AW189 variant has fared better, with some 60 helicopters in service, mostly in the offshore oil and gas industry and in public service in the United Kingdom, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan.

Egypt reportedly orders AW149 helicopters - defenceWeb

Egypt is believed to have ordered AW149 helicopters to use aboard its naval vessels, choosing the Leonardo Helicopters product over the competing NH90. According to France’s La Tribune, Egypt informed France last week that it had chosen the AW149, with the order believed to cover around 20...

www.defenceweb.co.za

 

[Khafee]

Egypt receives third Type 209 submarine from Germany
6th May 2019


Christening Ceremony of the S43 submarine for Egypt.

ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) has launched the third of four Type 209/1400mod class submarines for the Egyptian Navy at a ceremony in Kiel, Germany.
As part of the ceremony on 3 May, Vice Admiral Ahmed Khaled, Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian Navy, officially named the boat S43. It will undergo sea trials before delivery to Egypt.

Dr Rolf Wirtz, CEO of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, said “This significant milestone in the construction programme for the Egyptian Navy is based on an open and trusting dialogue with our customer as well as the competence of our employees and suppliers. These are key factors on our successful way to become Europe’s most modern naval company.”

The contract for the delivery of the first two Type 209/1400mod class submarines to Egypt was signed in 2011. In 2015, Egypt decided to take the option for two additional units of the most recent version of the Type 209 family.

The first submarine, named S41, was handed over in December 2016 and the second submarine, named S42, in August 2017. The programme is planned to end with the handover of the fourth ship in 2021.

The Egyptian military has said the new Type 209 submarinees will be used to protect Egypt’s national security, protect its economic interests and ensure safe and free navigation of the Suez Canal and other regions. The vessels have a range of 11 000 nautical miles, a top speed of 21 knots and displacement of over 1 400 tonnes.

Egypt said the Type 209/1400s will be able to launch missiles and torpedoes – it is believed they will be fitted with Harpoon anti-ship missiles.

The new Type 209s will most likely replace the Egyptian Navy’s four elderly Romeo class vessels delivered in 1983/84.

News of the Egyptian submarine contract first surfaced in August 2012 when the deal was confirmed by Rear Admiral Osama Ahmed el-Gundi, the chief of the Egyptian navy staff. Preliminary negotiations for ex-German Navy Type 206A boats were reported to have begun in December 2004.

The Type 209 attack submarine was developed for export by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft of Germany. Five variants of the class (209/1100, 209/1200, 209/1300, 209/1400 and 209/1500) have been exported to over a dozen countries, with more than 60 submarines being built and commissioned.

The average Type 209 has a crew of 30 and displaces 1 594 tons submerged. The type is 62 metres long with a 6.2 metre pressure hull diameter. It can dive to a maximum depth of 250 metres and is armed with eight torpedo tubes with 14 torpedoes. Speed is ten knots on the surface and 21 knots dived.

Egypt receives third Type 209 submarine from Germany - defenceWeb

ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) has launched the third of four Type 209/1400mod class submarines for the Egyptian Navy at a ceremony in Kiel, Germany. As part of the ceremony on 3 May, Vice Admiral Ahmed Khaled, Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian Navy, officially named the boat S43. It will...

www.defenceweb.co.za

 

[Khafee]

 

[Khafee]

Third Egyptian Type 209 submarine S43 launched in Germany
May 3, 2019
S43, the Egyptian Navy’s third Type 209/1400 submarine, was launched in Kiel, Germany, in a ceremony on May 3.

As part of the ceremony, Vice Admiral Ahmed Khaled, Commander-in- Chief of the Egyptian Navy, officially named the boat S43.

The third of overall four boats that are being delivered by thyssenkrupp Marine Systems will now be tested before delivery the the navy.

The first submarine, named S41, was handed over in December 2016 and the second submarine, named S42, in August 2017. The program is planned to end with the handover of the fourth ship in 2021.

The contract for the delivery of the first two 209/1400mod class submarines to the Arab Republic of Egypt was signed in 2011.

In 2015, Egypt decided to take the option for two additional units of the most recent version of the class 209 “family”.

Egypt’s Type 209 submarine measure approximately 62 meters in length, displace 1,450 tons and have a pressure hull diameter of 6.2 meters. They are crewed by a complement of 30.

Third Egyptian Type 209 submarine S43 launched in Germany - Naval Today

S43, the Egyptian Navy’s third Type 209/1400 submarine, was launched in Kiel, Germany, in a ceremony on May 3. As part of the ceremony, Vice Admiral Ahmed Khaled, Commander-in- Chief of the Egyptian Navy, officially named the boat S43. The third of overall four boats that are being delivered by...

navaltoday.com

 

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Egypt launches its third Gowind 2500 corvette in Alexandria
May 13, 2019

The Egyptian Navy’s third Gowind 2500 corvette Al-Moez (981) was launched in a ceremony at the Alexandria shipyard on May 12.

In addition to being the third unit in the class, Al-Moez is the second of a total of four ships to be built locally by Egypt.

The first unit, ENS El Fateh, was delivered to Egypt in 2017 by Naval Group, the French state-owned shipbuilder who is helping Egypt build the remaining three units in the class under a transfer of technology agreement.

Egypt’s 102-meter corvettes are equipped with the SETIS combat system and the Panoramic Sensors and Intelligence Module (PSIM) in addition to a 76mm Oto Melara gun, vertical launch cells for MBDA’s MICA missile and torpedo launchers.

Displacing 2,600 tonnes, the ships are crewed by 80 persons (including the helicopter detachment) and reach a speed of 25 knots.


The launch of Al-Moez is the result of a long-standing cooperation between Naval Group and Egypt. In addition to corvettes, the shipbuilder delivered the FREMM multi mission frigate Tahya Misr in August 2015 and two Mistral-class landing helicopter dock vessels to the Egyptian Navy in June 2016.

Naval Group has also established an Egyptian subsidiary called Alexandria Naval with the aim of providing in-service support for the delivered vessels.

https://navaltoday.com/2019/05/13/e...9XMUf5zMXbdFFaiXlQzfVDwCTv-Cy2sKsjJD8q_P4w92s

 

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47 suspected militants, 5 troops killed in Egypt's Sinai
AFP
May 16, 2019

• As part of the wide-ranging operation to secure Egypt's borders, 158 "criminal elements" were arrested
• The armed forces also neutralised 385 explosive devices that insurgents planted targeting security forces

CAIRO: Egypt's army on Thursday said 47 militants and five of its troops were killed as part of its military offensive in the restive Sinai Peninsula, where it is fighting Daesh.

The suspected militants had "guns of different makes, ammunition, explosive devices in northern and central Sinai" in their possession, according to a slickly produced video statement posted on the armed forces' social media accounts.

As part of the wide-ranging operation to secure Egypt's borders, 158 "criminal elements" were arrested.

The armed forces also neutralised 385 explosive devices that insurgents planted targeting security forces.

The army did not specify when the deaths and arrests took place, saying only that they happened as part of "recent efforts" against extremists.

The Sinai Peninsula, in the north-east of the country, is the epicentre of a hardened extremist insurgency spearheaded by Daesh.

In February 2018, the army launched a nationwide operation against militants, focusing mainly on the North Sinai region.

Some 650 militants and around 45 soldiers have been killed since the start of the offensive, according to the armed forces.

No independent statistic are available to verify the deaths and the region is largely cut off to journalists.

Terror attacks have surged following the 2013 military ouster of president Mohamed Morsi, who was replaced by former army general Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

The Egyptian president has presented himself as a bulwark against terrorism and a rock of political stability amid a region in turmoil.

47 suspected militants, 5 troops killed in Egypt's Sinai

CAIRO: Egypt's army on Thursday said 47 militants and five of its troops were killed as part of its military offensive in the restive Sinai Peninsula, where it is fighting Daesh. The suspected militants had "guns of different makes, ammunition, explosive devices in northern and central Sinai" in...

www.arabnews.com

 

[Khafee]

Egyptian Forces Kill Dozens of Militants in North Sinai
Thursday, 16 May, 2019

Photo released by military spokesman Tamer al-Rifai on social media

Asharq Al-Awsat

Egyptian security forces have killed 47 militants in operations in the restive northern Sinai Peninsula recently, the military said on Thursday.

Five military personnel were also killed, the armed forces said, without specifying where those deaths took place.

The figures covered the "last period", the military said.

The statement, which was released by military spokesman Tamer al-Rifai, said the army had found 385 explosive devices and had carried out controlled explosions, but did not specify the locations.

The armed forces say hundreds of militants have been killed since the military launched a large campaign in February 2018 aimed at defeating ISIS or related militant groups in the Sinai peninsula.

Egyptian Forces Kill Dozens of Militants in North Sinai

Egyptian security forces have killed 47 militants in operations in the restive northern Sinai Peninsula recently, the military said on Thursday. Five military personnel were also killed, the armed forces said, without specifying where those deaths took place. The figures covered the "last...

aawsat.com

 

[Khafee]

Blast Injures Tourists on Bus Near Egypt's Giza Pyramids
Sunday, 19 May, 2019

A group of camels and horses stand idle in front of the great pyramids in Giza, Egypt. | REUTERS/ Mohamed Abd El Ghany/ File Photo

Cairo- Asharq Al-Awsat

An explosion targeting a tourist bus injured at least 12 people near a new museum being built close to the Giza pyramids in Egypt on Sunday, two security sources said.

Most of those injured were foreign tourists, the sources said. One security source said they included South African nationals.

There were no reports of deaths. A witness, Mohamed el-Mandouh, told Reuters he heard a “very loud explosion” while sitting in traffic near the site of the blast.

Pictures posted on social media showed a bus with some of its windows blown out or shattered, and debris in the road next to a low wall with a hole in it.

In December, three Vietnamese tourists and an Egyptian guide were killed and at least 10 others injured when a roadside bomb hit their tour bus less than 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from the Giza pyramids.

Tourism is a pillar of Egypt's economy with hotel workers, tourist guides, taxi drivers and stallholders in the souks and bazaars depending on it for their living.

The industry has been recovering since a sharp drop in visitor numbers after the turmoil of the Arab Spring in 2011 and the bombing of a Russian passenger jet in 2015, when 224 people were killed.

Blast Injures Tourists on Bus Near Egypt's Giza Pyramids

An explosion targeting a tourist bus injured at least 12 people near a new museum being built close to the Giza pyramids in Egypt on Sunday, two security sources said. Most of those injured were foreign tourists, the sources said. One security source said they included South African nationals...

aawsat.com

 

[Khafee]

Bomb hits tourist bus near Egypt’s Giza Pyramids, wounds 17
By SAMY MAGDY
19 May 2019


Police inspect a car and a bus that were damaged by a bomb, in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, March 19, 2019. Egyptian officials say a roadside bomb has hit a tourist bus near the Giza Pyramids. They said Sunday’s blast wounded at least 17 people including tourists. (AP Photo/Mohammed Salah)

CAIRO (AP) — A roadside bomb hit a tourist bus on Sunday near the Giza Pyramids, wounding at least 17 people including tourists, Egyptian officials said.

The officials said the bus was travelling on a road close to the under-construction Grand Egyptian Museum, which is located adjacent to the Giza Pyramids but is not yet open to tourists.

The bus was carrying at least 25 people mostly from South Africa, officials added.

The attack comes as Egypt’s vital tourism industry is showing signs of recovery after years in the doldrums because of the political turmoil and violence that followed a 2011 uprising that toppled former leader Hosni Mubarak.

The officials said security forces cordoned off the site of the explosion and the wounded were taken to a nearby hospital.

The explosion damaged a windshield of another car, they said. Footage circulated online shows shattered windows of the bus.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.

Atif Moftah, general supervisor of the Grand Egyptian Museum, said the explosion did not cause any damage to the museum, in a statement issued by the antiquities ministry.

No group has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. It is the second to target foreign tourists near the famed pyramids in less than six months. In December, a bus carrying 15 Vietnamese tourists was hit by a roadside bomb, killing at least three of them.

Egypt has battled Islamic militants for years in the Sinai Peninsula in an insurgency that has occasionally spilled over to the mainland, hitting minority Christians or tourists. The insurgency gained strength after the 2013 military overthrow of the country’s first freely elected president, an Islamist whose brief rule sparked mass protests.

Bomb hits tourist bus near Egypt's Giza Pyramids, wounds 17

CAIRO (AP) — A roadside bomb hit a tourist bus on Sunday near the Giza Pyramids, wounding at least 17 people including tourists, Egyptian officials said.

www.apnews.com

 

[Khafee]

Egyptian security forces kill 12 suspected militants after bus bombing
Reuters, Cairo
Monday, 20 May 2019

Egyptian security forces have killed 12 suspected extremist militants in Cairo, the Interior Ministry said on Monday, a day after an explosion targeting a tourist bus injured at least 12 people.

A rudimentary device containing nails and pieces of metal detonated on the perimeter of the Grand Egyptian Museum near a bus carrying 25 South African tourists from the airport to the pyramids district.

The Interior Ministry did not say whether the suspected militants were connected to Sunday’s attack, but said its forces killed the suspects during raids on their hideouts in the 6th of October and Al Shorouk districts, where it said members of the militant group Hasm were planning a series of attacks in the country to create an “atmosphere of chaos.”

Egypt accuses the group, which emerged in 2016 and has claimed several attacks, of being a wing of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. Egypt’s oldest Islamist movement denies this and says it seeks change through peaceful means only.

The ministry said the suspects were killed in gunbattles, but did not elaborate on the suspects’ identity or whether there had been any casualties or injuries among the security forces.

Weapons and explosives were found at the scene of the shootouts, the ministry said.

A Reuters investigation in April found that Egyptian security forces had shot dead hundreds of suspected militants in what the Interior Ministry said were gun battles, but which bereaved families said were extrajudicial executions.

A Reuters analysis of the ministry statements showed that deadly shootouts often followed an attack by militants. For example, in December 2018, a day after the deadly bombing of a Vietnamese tourist bus in Giza, the ministry announced that its forces had killed 40 people in three separate incidents.

Human rights organizations have accused Egypt of carrying out extrajudicial executions and of trying civilians in military courts as part of the crackdown.

President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has said that the matter of human rights should be treated in the context of regional turbulence and the struggle against terrorism. Strong security measures, he has said, are needed to stabilize Egypt after the turmoil that followed the country’s 2011 uprising.

Egypt’s military and police launched a major campaign against militant groups in 2018, focusing on the Sinai Peninsula as well as southern areas and the border with Libya.

Egyptian security forces kill 12 suspected militants after bus bombing

Egyptian security forces have killed 12 suspected extremist militants in Cairo, the Interior Ministry said on Monday, a day after an explosion targeting a

english.alarabiya.net

 

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Egypt Army Denies Violations Committed in Sinai
Tuesday, 28 May, 2019

Armored vehicles in Sinai. (AFP)

Asharq Al-Awsat

Egyptian authorities denied on Tuesday a rights report that alleged that the military had committed violations against civilians during counter-terrorism operations in the northern Sinai region.

Military spokesman Colonel Tamer al-Rifai rejected the Human Rights Watch report as "untruthful".

"It is based on unverified sources. Some politicized organizations are intent on tarnishing Egypt's image and its armed forces with baseless claims," he told AFP.

The armed forces have taken all legal precautions and respected international human rights, he added to the MENA news agency.

A buffer zone has been established on the border line and affected civilians have been compensated through the construction of the new Rafah city, he said.

Moreover, Rifai stressed that the armed forces have supported international efforts to implement development projects in Sinai in order to improve living conditions in the area.

The army has succeeded in destroying the terrorist infrastructure and restored normalcy in Sinai through providing security and social peace to the civilians away from terrorist threats, he stated.

Egypt Army Denies Violations Committed in Sinai

Egyptian authorities denied on Tuesday a rights report that alleged that the military had committed violations against civilians during counter-terrorism operations in the northern Sinai region. Military spokesman Colonel Tamer al-Rifai rejected the Human Rights Watch report as "untruthful". "It...

aawsat.com

 

[Khafee]

Top militant suspect transferred to Egypt from eastern Libya: state TV
May 29, 2019

CAIRO (Reuters) - Top Egyptian militant suspect Hisham al-Ashmawy was transferred to Egypt from eastern Libya in a military aircraft, Egyptian state television said on Wednesday.

Ashmawy, a former Egyptian special forces officer, was apprehended in the Libyan city of Derna late last year and has been long sought by Cairo on charges of orchestrating a deadly desert ambush on police and other high-profile attacks.

Reporting by Mohamed El-Sherif; Editing by Cynthia Osterman

Top militant suspect transferred to Egypt from eastern Libya: state TV

Top Egyptian militant suspect Hisham al-Ashmawy was transferred to Egypt from eastern Libya in a military aircraft, Egyptian state television said on Wednesday.

www.reuters.com

 

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Egyptian Terrorist Hisham Ashmawy Transferred from LNA to Cairo
Wednesday, 29 May, 2019

Hisham al-Ashmawy, in a photo released by the LNA after his arrest in Libya's Derna last year. (AFP)

Asharq Al-Awsat

The Libyan National Army (LNA) transferred to Cairo top Egyptian terrorist Hisahm al-Ashmawy, reported state television on Wednesday.

Ashmawy, a former Egyptian special forces officer, was apprehended in the Libyan city of Derna late last year and has been long sought by Cairo on charges of orchestrating a deadly desert ambush on police and other high-profile attacks.

At least two private Egyptian television channels showed live footage of the military aircraft landing in Cairo airport and a presenter climbed inside to film a blindfolded and ear-muffed Ashmawy.

Another unidentified detainee could also be seen handcuffed, blindfolded and ear-muffed. Two intelligence sources told Reuters the man was Safwat Zeidan, Ashmawy’s personal guard.

In his first comments on the transfer, Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi said in a tweet: “The war on terrorism has not ended and will not end before the right of every martyr is restored.”

The transfer came following a visit by Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel to Benghazi where he met with LNA commander Khalifa Haftar.

Ashmway had sought refuge in Derna to operate against the Egyptian government after the ouster of former President Mohammed Morsi in 2013. He attempted to form the so-called “Free Egyptian Army” that was comprised of radicalized Egyptians. He encountered complications when Egyptian terrorists from Syria and Iraq joined the group.

Libyan and Egyptian sources said that the group was dissolved some two years ago.

Ashmawy then formed the Ansar al-Islam network, which claimed responsibility for an ambush against police in Egypt’s Western Desert in 2017. Egyptian officials also accuse the network, which they link to al-Qaeda, of an assassination attempt on a former Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim in 2013.

Ashmawy has been convicted in absentia to death in Egypt for attacks in Egypt, including a 2014 raid in which 22 Egyptian military border guards were killed near the frontier with Libya.

Egyptian Terrorist Hisham Ashmawy Transferred from LNA to Cairo

The Libyan National Army (LNA) transferred to Cairo top Egyptian terrorist Hisahm al-Ashmawy, reported state television on Wednesday. Ashmawy, a former Egyptian special forces officer, was apprehended in the Libyan city of Derna late last year and has been long sought by Cairo on charges of...

aawsat.com

 

[Timsah]

Egypt and the Republic of Korea are in talks for Egypt to purchase newer hardware from the Koreans. The Deal Includes:
-Incheon class frigates
-K9 thunder artillery systems
-KM-SAM air defence system
-K239 Chunmoo rocket artillery system

 

[Timsah]

recent training with American soldiers, most probable in Counter-terrorism to help against the Sinai insurgency