Multi-national military exercises take place

The multi-national ‘Medusa’ military exercise will end this week after six days, the defence ministry said on Thursday.

According to the ministry, the exercise began on November 19 and will be completed on November 25.

The aeronautical exercise was held just off the coast of Alexandria, Egypt, and with the participation of Cyprus, Greece, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

France, Germany, Romania, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Morocco, Bahrain and Congo were all observers to the exercise.

The National Guard is participating with PGY Alasia and the naval command’s underwater disaster team, an air force command AW-139 A/V and a commando special operations team.

On Wednesday, the final phase of the exercise was held in the presence of distinguished visitors.

It took place aboard the helicopter carrier Gamal Abdel Nasser of the Egyptian Navy, in the presence of the chief of defence forces of Egypt Lt. Gen. Osama Roshdy Askar, the chief of Cypriot defence forces Lieutenant General Demokritos Zervakis, the chief of defence forces of Greece General Constantinos Floros and the chief of the Saudi Arabian Navy General Fayyad Bin Hamed Al-Ruwaili.

During the final phase, operational scenarios were executed, which included static belt jumps and parachutist freefall, reconnaissance and boarding of a warship, combined landing action on the coast of “El Omayed” as well as simulated air attacks by attack helicopters and fighter jets. The final phase was completed with the passage and awarding of a salute by the aeronautical units to the guests.

The chief of the National Guard said that international cooperation, as well as military exercises to improve the mutual understanding and interoperability of the armed forces at the operational level are important and at the strategic level, in maintaining peace and security in the sensitive area of the Eastern Mediterranean.