Egyptian Armed Forces

The Egyptian Armed Forces are the largest in Africa, and the Middle East, and is the 10th most powerful in the world, consisting of the Egyptian Army, Egyptian Navy, Egyptian Air Force and Egyptian Air Defense Command.

In addition, Egypt maintains large paramilitary forces. The Central Security Forces comes under the control of the ministry of interior. The Egyptian Border Guard Forces and the Egyptian National Guard comes under the control of the Ministry of Defence.

Overview
The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, the senior uniformed officer, is currently General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and the Chief of Staff is currently Lieutenant General Sedki Sobhi.

The Armed Forces' inventory includes equipment from different countries around the world. Equipment from the former Soviet Union is being progressively replaced by more modern U.S., 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 other African and Arab states. Egypt remains a strong military and strategic partner and is a participant in NATO's Mediterranean Dialogue forum. The Egyptian military is one of the strongest in the region, and gives Egypt regional military supremacy rivaled only by Israel, besides being one of the strongest in Africa. Egypt is one of the few countries in the Middle East, and the only Arab state, with a reconnaissance satellite and has launched another one in 2007.

In January 2011, a delegation led by the chief of staff of Egypt's armed forces, Lt. Gen. Sami Hafez Enan, was in Washington, D.C., although the visit was truncated due to the protests. The sessions, an annual country-to-country military coordination, were being led for the U.S. by Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Alexander Vershbow. A meeting with Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other talks had been planned to extend to 2 February. However, in light of events in Egypt, the delegation left Washington to return home. Before their Friday night departure, Vershbow urged the two dozen Egyptian military representatives "to exercise 'restraint'".

Senior members of the military can convene the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, so during the course of the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, when Mubarak resigned and transferred power to this body on 11 February 2011.

On Sunday 12 August 2012, new president Mohamed Morsi announced a series of military appointments. Hussein Tantawi, the minister of defence and the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, were both retired. Morsi also retired Sami Anan, the Army’s Chief of Staff. Morsi awarded both men state medals and appointed them as advisors to the president. Thirdly, the president appointed the head of the military intelligence, Abdul Fatah al-Sisi, as Minister of Defence to replace Tantawi. Sedki Sobhi, the commander of the Third Army, was appointed as Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces. Morsi also retired the Commander of the Navy, Mohab Memish, and appointed him as head of the Suez Canal Authority.

On 3 July, the head of the Egyptian Armed Forces, General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, announced President Mohamed Morsi removal from power, suspension of the constitution, and new presidential and Shura Council elections. The severe crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood commenced. responding to mass demonstrations took streets all over Egypt.

Politics and business
The Armed Forces enjoy considerable power, prestige and independence within the Egyptian state. During almost the entire history of the Republic of Egypt, active or retired military officers have been head of the Egyptian state. The one democratically-elected civilian who served as president was removed by a military coup after only one year (July 2012-July 2013).

Starting with the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, which created the Republic of Egypt, and was organized by the Free Officers Movement, presidents of Egypt (Gamal Abdel Nasser, Anwar Sadat, Hosni Mubarak) were ex-military officers for almost 60 years. This was interrupted with the 2011 revolution, when one of those presidents (Mubarak) stepped down, and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces ruled until an elected president -- Muhammad Morsi—took office. On 3 July 2013, General Al-Sisiannounced Morsi removal in 2013 Egyptian coup d'état, although the interim president he named was a civilian—the Chief Justice of Supreme Constitutional Court Adly Mansour.

Even the new constitution drafted and passed under Morsi included protections for the military from legal and parliamentary oversight, and deferred to "objections from the country’s military leadership" by removing a "clear prohibition on trials of civilians before military courts" some drafters had tried to include.

Business
The military which has its own Hospitals, Factories, Clubs and Gas Stations which serve it's Officers, Soldiers, and public as well also influential in business, engaging in road and housing construction, consumer goods, resort management, and extensive tracts of real estate. Much military information is not made publicly available, including budget information, the names of the general officers and the military’s size (which is considered a state secret). According to journalist Joshua Hammer, "as much as 40% of the Egyptian economy" is controlled by the Egyptian military. the number which is described as a "myth" by some economists and journalists and contribution considered by some as "necessary" for the Egyptian Economy and the needs of the Armed Forces to maintains its strength.

Army
The inventory of the Egyptian armed forces includes equipment from the United States, France, Brazil, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and the People's Republic of China. Equipment from the Soviet Union is being progressively replaced by more modern U.S., French, and British equipment, a significant portion of which is built under license in Egypt, such as the M1A2 Abrams tank which makes Egypt the owner of the second largest number of latest generation main battle tanks in the region after Israel, and the second after Syria in case of the older generations. Conscripts for the army and other service branches without a university degree serve three years as enlisted soldiers. Conscripts with a General Secondary School Degree serve two years as enlisted personnel. Conscripts with a university degree serve one year as enlisted personnel or three years as a reserve officer. Officers for the army are trained at the Egyptian Military Academy one of the oldest academies in the world.

Air Force
The Egyptian Air Force or EAF is the aviation branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces. Currently, the backbone of the EAF is the F-16. The EAF (planes and pilot training) is considered to be the strongest in Africa and one of the strongest in the Middle East. The Mirage 2000 is the other modern interceptor used by the EAF. The Egyptian Air Force has 216 F-16s (plus 20 on order) making it the 4th largest operator of the F-16 in the World. It has about 579 combat aircraft and 149 armed helicopters having 35 Apache's AH-64D as it also continues to fly extensively upgraded MiG-21s, F-7 Skybolts, F-4 Phantoms, Dassault Mirage Vs, and the C-130 Hercules among other planes. The Air Force is undergoing massive modernization. Mikoyan confirmed that talks with Egypt are underway for the sale of 40 Mig-29SMT jet-fighters with a possible additional batch of 60-80 planes.

Air Defense Command
The Egyptian Air Defense Command or ADF (Quwwat El Diffaa El Gawwi in Arabic) is Egypt's military command responsible for air defense. One of the most powerful air defenses in the world. Egypt patterned its Air Defense Force (ADF) after the Soviet Anti-Air Defenses, which integrated all its air defense capabilities – antiaircraft guns, rocket and missile units, interceptor planes, and radar and warning installations.

Its commander is Lieutenant General Abdul Meniem Al-Toras.

Navy
Although the Egyptian Navy is the smallest branch of the military, it is large by Middle Eastern standards. The Egyptian Navy is known to be the strongest in the African continent, and the largest in the Middle East in spite of the rapid growth of other countries' navies within the region.

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 el Tin near Alexandria. The current commander is Vice Admiral Osama El-Gendi.

The Navy also controls the Egyptian Coast Guard. The Coast Guard is responsible for the onshore protection of public installations near the coast and the patrol of coastal waters to prevent smuggling. it has an inventory consisting of about thirty five large patrol craft (each between twenty and thirty meters in length) and twenty smaller Bertram-class coastal patrol craft built in the United States.

See list of naval ships of Egypt for a list of vessels in service.

Arab Organization for Industrialization
The Arab Organization for Industrialization supervises nine military factories which produce civilian goods as well as military products. Initially the owners of AOI were the governments of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, before the latter governments gave their shares back to Egypt in 1993, valued at $1.8 billion. AOI is now entirely in Egyptian hands.

Government paramilitary agencies
Government paramilitary forces .Two agencies, the Central Security Forces and Border Guard Forces, are under the control of the Ministry of Interior. The Ministry of Defence controls the National Guard, which is mainly for ceremonials and parades, but also for the defence of the Presidential institution and the Capital.

Military schools


There is an undergraduate military school for each branch of the Egyptian Military establishment, and they include:


 * Commanders & Staff Commanders College
 * Reserve Officers College
 * Nasser Academy for Military Science
 * The Egyptian Military Academy
 * The Egyptian Naval Academy
 * The Egyptian Air Academy
 * The Egyptian Air Defense Academy
 * The Egyptian Military Technical College

Foreign military assistance
The U.S. provides annual military assistance to the Egyptian Armed Forces. In 2009, the U.S. provided nominal $1.3 billion to the Egyptian military ($0 billion in ). Much of this is in equipment such as tanks and jet fighters that are surplus to Egyptian needs and kept in storage.