Egypt's air and missile defense capabilities and its hosting of multiple joint military exercises have enabled it to establish itself as a leader in regional security.

Egypt has one of the largest and best organized air defense forces in the Middle East.

Its arsenals include 12 batteries of MIM-23 Improved Hawk surface-to-air missiles with 78 launchers. The Hawk has a range of 45–50km and is guided by semi-active radar homing.

It provides coverage against low-to-medium-altitude aircraft, and is a mobile, all-weather, day and night system.

In 1999, Egypt acquired 32 Patriot-3 (MIM-104-F/PAC-3) missile systems from the United States for $1.3 billion. The PAC-3 is a highly maneuverable hit-to-kill missile designed to defend against short and medium-range ballistic missiles.

Another type of missile that the Egyptian military possesses is the MIM-72A/M48 Chaparral.

It is a US-made self-propelled surface-to-air missile system using AIM-9 Sidewinder-based MIM-72 missiles fitted to M113 tracked armored vehicles. The missiles have a range of 55 to 9,000 meters.

Complementing these systems are Egypt's newer IRIS-T SLM systems and the DJ-400 counter-unmanned aerial system (C-UAS) produced in Egypt.

IRIS-T has SLS (short range), SLM (medium range) and SLX (long range) variants.

In September 2018, the German government approved selling seven IRIS-T SLM tactical systems to Egypt, Eurasian Times reported.

Later, Cairo signed an agreement to procure 10 batteries of the IRIS-T SLX ground-based air defense system.

The IRIS-T SLM consists of a radar unit, a tactical operations center and several missile launchers.

It provides comprehensive 360° protection against aircraft, helicopters, cruise missiles and guided weapons, and enables simultaneous engagement of multiple targets from very short to medium range within extremely brief reaction times.

In December 2021, reports indicated that Egypt had received the first IRIS-T SLM batch from Germany.

The medium-range air defense system will now significantly boost the Egyptian air force.

In 2021, Egypt also demonstrated the DJ-400 C-UAS, offering regional partners a glimpse of what secure airspace could look like.

The Arab Organization for Industrialization -- an Egyptian company -- showcased the system, which can jam military mini- and micro-unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs or drones) from up to 4km away.

The system blocks signals related to the remote control of the drone, data transfers and global navigation satellite systems. It uses a digital frequency synthesizer and power amplifiers based on gallium nitride transistor technology.

"The significance of this system is its modularity, which enables any configuration of the system for sector, or omnidirectional protection against swarm attacks," Mohamed al-Kenany, who leads the military studies unit at the Cairo-based Arab Forum for Analyzing Iranian Policies, told Defense News in December 2021.

It also has various configurations and can be operated in a stationary or deployable mode, he added.

Enhancing regional security

Such systems provide a valuable tool for Egypt in maintaining regional security.

In January 2022, for example, Cairo offered to provide the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with air defense assistance to protect itself against one-way attack UAVs used by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis.

Egypt also has other tools that have enabled it to become one of the region's leaders in security cooperation.

The country, which has traditionally leveraged military exercises, has in recent years also used them to increase its interoperability with foreign partners including France, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Jordan and Bahrain and to demonstrate its ability to integrate aerial, naval and ground schemes of maneuver.

For example, the biannual Bright Star exercises led by the Egypt and the United States run from Thursday (August 31) till September 14 this year at Mohammed Najib Military Base.

Contingents from the United States, India, Saudi Arabia, Greece and Qatar are expected to take part.

Other exercises include the joint Cleopatra 2022 naval drills between Egypt and France, which took place in French territorial waters last September.

The drills were aimed at enhancing military cooperation, raising the combat efficiency of Egyptian forces and bringing more security to the region.

The naval exercise included several theoretical lectures, as well as training sessions for naval reconnaissance operations to intercept hostile targets, combat atypical threats and search suspected ships.

Egyptian and Pakistani air defense forces in May 2021 also held the Sky Guardians 1 exercise for the first time.

The drills included "launching missiles towards air targets and firing anti-aircraft artillery in the direction of ground and air targets, with the aim of detecting, identifying, handling and destroying hostile targets," according to the Egyptian military.

In November 2020, Egypt hosted the Sword of Arabs exercise in Marsa Matrouh. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Jordan, Bahrain and Sudan took part.

The training exercises sought to boost military ties between Egypt and other Arab countries and develop the foundations of military cooperation and joint action.

The increased number of drills starting in 2020 showed that the Egyptian armed forces have the capabilities to conduct all these exercises at the same time, Ahmad Eleiba, a defense analyst at the Egyptian Center for Strategic Studies, told Defense News in November 2020.

The exercises also show off Egypt's strategic deterrence capabilities and weapon systems, he added.