For more than four decades, the Bright Star military exercises have embodied the enduring commitment between Egypt and the United States in securing peace and stability in the Middle East and Africa.

The exercises, the largest set of multinational army maneuvers in the Middle East, have been carried out every two years since 1981 -- with the exception of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The United States and Egypt started the initiative, and the number of countries that joined them gradually grew, reaching 21 in 2021.

This year, more than 8,000 military personnel from 34 countries are participating in the drills, which are being held in Egypt this month.

"The growth of the Bright Star exercise is key to improving the interoperability between CENTCOM [US Central Command] forces, Egypt's Armed Forces, and all the other regional forces participating," said CENTCOM commander Gen. Michael "Erik" Kurilla.

"Egypt's leadership is critical to security in the region," he said on July 27, during a two-day trip to Egypt.

The 2021 iteration of the exercise included the United Kingdom and France, as well as Cyprus, Italy, Spain, Greece and Pakistan.

Arab and African participants included Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, Bahrain, Sudan, Morocco, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Tunisia, Kenya, Nigeria and Tanzania.

Approximately 600 US military personnel participated in the exercise.

The drills test the countries' ability to work together on regional challenges across the air, land, sea and cyber domains.

They typically consist of a field training exercise with a combined-arms live-fire exercise, command post exercise and a senior leader seminar relating to various security challenges.

Contribution to peacekeeping

Bright Star builds on the strategic security relationship between Egypt and the United States, which plays a leading role in regional security and efforts to combat the spread of extremism.

The exercises have helped Egyptian and US forces prepare for a range of security and terrorism challenges, said security affairs analyst Brig. Gen. (ret.) Khaled Okasha.

In every iteration of the military exercises, the latest technological advances are tested and assessed for their suitability for the various combat situations, Okasha said.

"The Bright Star training exercises are among the most important joint exercises in the world, and have for decades played a major role in developing co-operation and the exchange of expertise between Egypt and the United States," said military observer Maj. Gen. (ret.) Mohammed al-Ghabari.

The exercises have always included the "testing of new wartime technologies to train participating armies on their use," he said.

Training combat groups from different countries to carry out joint missions greatly increases their ability to co-operate on regional and international security challenges, he said.

"Bright Star has succeeded over the years in increasing co-operation between countries with the aim of achieving regional security and peace," said Egyptian Maj. Gen. (ret.) Mohamed al-Shahawy, adviser to the army's Command and Staff College.

It has also increased the level of co-operation between the Egyptian armed forces and their American counterpart to an "unprecedented level," al-Shahawy said.

The exercises play a "major role in unifying the conceptions of shared challenges and the areas of co-operation between Egypt and the United States," he said.

This progress in turn will contribute to the success of any future joint operations to counter threats to international peace and security, he added.