Egyptian Navy
| Egyptian Navy | |
|---|---|
 Naval Ensign | |
| Active | 1845 - Present |
| Country | Egypt |
| Type | Navy |
| Size | Personnel: 32,000 Active: 18,000 Reserve: 14,000 |
| Part of | Egyptian Armed Forces |
| Naval Headqarters (NvHQ) | Alexandria |
| Colours | Blue and White |
| Anniversaries | 21 October |
| Equipment | 245 vessels [1] |
| Commanders | |
| Commander in Chief of the Navy | Rear Admiral Ossama Mounir Rabie |
| Chief of Staff of the Navy | Rear Admiral Ahmed Khaled Hassan Saeed |
| Insignia | |
| Ceremonial Flag |  |
| Insignia | Egyptian Navy ranks |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Electronic warfare | Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye |
| Helicopter | Aérospatiale Gazelle, Kaman SH-2G Super Seasprite, Westland Sea King |
The Egyptian Navy is the maritime branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces. It is the largest navy in the Middle East and Africa, and is the seventh largest in the world measured by the number of vessels.[2] The navy's missions include protection of more than 2,000 kilometers of coastline of the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, defense of approaches to the Suez Canal, and support for army operations. The majority of the Egyptian Navy was created with the help of the Soviet Union in the 1960s. The navy received ships in the 1980s from China and other, western, sources. In 1989, the Egyptian Navy had 18,000 personnel as well as 2,000 personnel in the Coast Guard.[3]
History
Egypt has had a Navy since Ancient Egyptian times. The Ancient Egyptian Navy was a vital part of the Military of ancient Egypt, helping to transport troops along the Nile River and fighting many battles such as the Battle of the Delta against the Sea Peoples. The Ancient Egyptian Navy imported many of their ships from countries such as the Kingdom of Cyprus.[4] Several Ancient Egyptian solar ships are still present today.
In the early 1800s, Egypt under Muhammad Ali Pasha developed a modern European-style army and navy. After intervening in the Greek War of Independence at Ottoman Turkey's request, the Egyptian navy was destroyed in 1827 at the Battle of Navarino by the fleets of Great Britain, France and Russia. With the Egyptian army in Greece now isolated, Muhammad Ali was forced to make terms with the British and withdraw a year later.
A replacement fleet was built for the First Egyptian-Ottoman War in 1831, and landed troops at Jaffa in support of the main Egyptian army marching into Syria. In the Second Egyptian–Ottoman War in 1839, following Egyptian victory in the Battle of Nezib, the Ottoman fleet sailed to Alexandria and defected to the Egyptian side. However, these victories provoked decisive European intervention to support the Turks, and while Muhammad Ali's dynasty continued to reign, Egypt ended up effectively a British colony until the 1950s.
The Egyptian navy was only peripherally involved in the series of conflicts with Israel. During the Suez Crisis, Egypt dispatched the Ibrahim el Awal, an ex-British Hunt class destroyer, to Haifa with the aim of shelling that city's coastal oil installations. On 31 October the Ibrahim el Awal reached Haifa and began bombarding the city but was driven off by a French warship and then pursued by the Israeli destroyers INS Eilat and INS Yaffo which, with the help of the Israeli Air Force, captured the ship.[5] Egyptian destroyers and torpedo boats engaged larger British vessels in a move aimed at undermining the amphibious operations of the British and French. On the night of 31 October in the northern Red Sea, the British light cruiser HMS Newfoundland challenged and engaged the Egyptian frigate Domiat, reducing it to a burning hulk in a brief gun battle. The Egyptian warship was then sunk by escorting destroyer HMS Diana, with 69 surviving Egyptian sailors rescued.[6]
The Egyptian Navies blockade of Israeli ships in the Strait of Tiran that were headed toward the Israeli port of Eilat was on of the main causes of the Six-Day War. During the war, the Israeli Navy landed six combat divers from the Shayetet 13 naval commando unit to infiltrate Alexandria harbor. The divers sank an Egyptian minesweeper before being taken prisoner. Both Egyptian and Israeli warships made movements at sea to intimidate the other side throughout the war, but did not engage each other. However, Israeli warships and aircraft did hunt for Egyptian submarines throughout the war.
In October 1967, a few months after the cease-fire, the Egyptian Navy was the first navy in history to sink a ship using anti-ship missiles, when an Egyptian Komar class fast-attack craft sank the Israeli destroyer INS Eilat with two direct hits.[7] This was a milestone of modern naval warfare, and for the first time anti-ship missiles showed their potential, sinking the destroyer 17 km off Port Said.
On the night of 15–16 November 1969, Egyptian Navy frogmen attacked the port of Eilat and caused severe damages to the armed transport ship "Bat Yam".[8] On 5–6 February 1970, the Frogmen attacked the Israeli landing ships at the same port and same piers causing severe damages to the landing ships "Bait Shivaa" and transport armed ships "Hydroma".[8] On 8 March 1970, the Frogmen attacked the Israeli oil drill "Keting" at the port of Abidjan in Ivory Coast believing that Israel had bought this oil drill from the Netherlands for the purposes of oil exploration in the Suez Gulf.[8]
In the Yom Kippur War, Egypt blocked commercial traffic to Eilat in the Gulf of Aqaba by laying mines; it also attempted to blockade Israeli ports on the Mediterranean.[3] The navy also used the coastal artillery to the east of Port Fouad to support the Egyptian Army in order to prepare for the assault on the Suez Canal. [8] In the Battle of Baltim, three Egyptian Osa-class missile boats were sunk.
Chain of command
Commissioned Officers
| Commissioned Officer rank insignia of the Egyptian Navy | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Admiral | Vice Admiral | Rear Admiral | Commodore | Captain | Commander | Lieutenant Commander | Lieutenant | Sub-Lieutenant | Ensign | |
| (Template:Lang-ar) | (Template:Lang-ar) | (Template:Lang-ar) | (Template:Lang-ar) | (Template:Lang-ar) | (Template:Lang-ar) | (Template:Lang-ar) | (Template:Lang-ar) | (Template:Lang-ar) | (Template:Lang-ar) | |
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Enlisted personnel
| Non-commissioned Officer rank insignia | Enlisted rank insignia | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Chief Petty Officer | Petty Officer | Leading Seaman | Seaman |
| (Template:Lang-ar) | (Template:Lang-ar) | (Template:Lang-ar) | (Template:Lang-ar) |
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—- |
Bases
Mediterranean
The Egyptian navy's headquarters and main base is at Alexandria on the Mediterranean Sea with other Mediterranean naval bases at Port Said and Mersa Matruh.
Red Sea
Egypt naval bases on the Red Sea are Hurghada, Safaga, Berenice and Suez.
Present fleet
The Egyptian Navy will be restructured into two different fleets, one for the Mediterranean sea and the other for the Red Sea. This in a context where the safety of shipping in the Red Sea is becoming increasingly important.[9]
Ships
See: List of ships of the Egyptian Navy for detailed information about modifications, and major specifications
Aircraft
The Egyptian Air Force equipment that supports the navy includes the following:
- 9 Aérospatiale Gazelle, used for naval shore reconnaissance.
- 10 Kaman SH-2G Super Seasprite (with 3 additional used as spares), armed with Anti submarine torpedoes.
- 5 Westland Sea King helicopters mounted with antiship missiles and antisubmarine torpedoes.
In mid-1988 the air force also took delivery of the first of 6 Grumman E-2C Hawkeye aircraft, now 8 units are operational and are used to secure the maritime borders among other missions; it also operates 6 Beechcraft 1900C aircraft for maritime surveillance purposes with search and side-looking radar. The Egyptian Navy also uses Mil Mi-8 and Sea King helicopters to transport troops.[10]
Equipment
Ship to ship/surface missiles
- P-270 Moskit/SS-N-22 with 120 km range and 320 kg payload (launched from P-32 Molniya class missile boat).
- HY-1 with 85 km range and 513 kg payload (launched from Hegu class Coastal FAC/M).
- Harpoon with more than 124 km range and 220 kg payload (launched from Ambassador class FPB/M, Knox class frigates, Oliver Hazard Perry class frigates & Discubierta class light frigates).
- Exocet (MM-38) with 65 km range and 165 kg payload (launched from Tiger class FPB/M).
- Otomat Mk1 with 80 km range and 210 kg payload (launched from Ramadan class FPB/M & October class FAC/M).
- SS-N-2a Styx with 43 km range and 513 kg payload (launched from OSA I).
Surface to ship/surface missile (coastal defence)
- FL-1 with 150 km range and 513 kg payload.
- KSR-2 (AS-5 "Kelt") with 200 km range and 1000 kg payload. (Modified from air-launched version)
- Otomat MkII with 180 km+ range and 210 kg payload.
- Exocet (MM-40 MK III) with 180 km range and 165 kg payload.
The Egyptian Coast Guard
The Egyptian Coast Guard is responsible for the onshore protection of public installations near the coast and the patrol of coastal waters to prevent smuggling. Currently consists of one hundred five ships and craft.
Patrol boats
- 21 Timsah class
- 9 Swiftships class
Patrol crafts
- 9 Type 83 class
- 6 Crestitalia class
- 12 Spectre class
- 12 Petersen class
- 5 Nisr class
- 29 DC class
- 3 of 6 MRTP-20[11][12]
Future
The Egyptian Navy has adopted the 60m diesel-powered Ambassador MK III fast missile patrol craft. The construction of the boats began in spring 2001. Egypt already had an older version of the Ambassador patrol craft in service, but the new boats would contain an update in design meant to make the vessels more resistant to radar detection. Design was conducted with the assistance of Lockheed Martin. Throughout recent years, Egypt has been constructing various Ramos-grade shipyards, which are capable of making more recent vessels like larger fast attack crafts, low-grade aircraft carriers (such as Oryx-class or Nimitz-class) and nuclear submarines, though none of the aforementioned vessles have been constructed there.
The navy is currently undergoing a modernization of its surface fleet. On 16 February 2015, the Egyptian Navy ordered one FREMM multipurpose frigate from the French shipbuilder DCNS to enter service before the opening of the New Suez Canal, as part of a larger deal (including 24 Rafales and a supply of missiles) worth €5.2bn.[13][14] Egypt has also signed a €1bn contract with DCNS to buy four Gowind 2,500 ton corvettes with an option for two more. [15] The ageing submarine fleet is to be replaced starting in 2016 when the first of four Type 209 submarine's worth €920 million start arriving from Germany.[16]
On 07 August 2015, Le Monde reported that Egypt and Saudi Arabia are in discussions with France to purchase the two Mistrals originally intended for Russia. Le Monde quoted a French diplomatic source as confirming that French President François Hollande discussed the matter with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi during his visit to Egypt during the inauguration of the New Suez Canal in Ismailia.[17][18]
Commanders
- Admiral Mahmoud Hamza Pasha (6 June 1946 – 1 October 1948)
- Admiral Ahmed Bek Badr (2 October 1948 – 30 September 1951)
- Admiral Mahmoud Bek Badr (1 October 1951 – 27 July 1952)
- Vice Admiral Mohamed Nashid (28 July 1952 – 14 September 1952)
- Admiral Suleiman Ezzat (15 September 1952 – 10 June 1967)
- Vice Admiral Fouad Abu Zikry (11 June 1967 – 11 September 1969)
- Rear Admiral Mahmoud Abdel Rahman Fahmy (12 September 1969 – 24 October 1972)
- Vice Admiral Fouad Abu Zikry
- Vice Admiral Ashraf Refaat
- Vice Admiral Mohamed Ali Mohamed
- Vice Admiral Ali Tawfik Gad (April 1983 - Oct 1987)
- Vice Admiral Sherif AlSadek (Oct 1987 - Oct 1990)
- Vice Admiral Ahmed Fadel
- Vice Admiral Ahmed Saber Seleem
- Vice Admiral Tamer Abdel Alim (October 2005 - October 2007)
- Vice Admiral Mohab Mamish (October 2007 - 11 August 2012)
- Vice Admiral Osama Ahmed ElGendy (14 August 2012 - 12 April 2015 )
- Rear Admiral Osama Mounir Rabie (13 April 2015 - Now)
See also
- Egyptian Armed Forces
- Ancient Egyptian navy
- Battle of Navarino included the Egyptian Navy
References
- ^ "Total Navy Ship Strength by Country".
- ^ Global Firepower. "Navy Ship Strength by Country".
- ^ a b "Egyptian Navy".
- ^ Kostas (2001)
- ^ Max Wurmbrand, The Valiant of Israel, p. 80, Massada Press Ltd (1967)
- ^ Pimlott – editor British Military Operations, 1945–1984 London: Guild Publishing 1984 p. 78
- ^ Saad El Shazly The Crossing of the Suez p.23
- ^ a b c d http://www.mmc.gov.eg/branches/Navy/t4.htm
- ^ "Egypte : après la FREMM..." ttu.fr (in French). 26 June 2015.
- ^ "Egyptian military aviation OrBat".
- ^ "قائد القوات البحرية: أحدث لنشات الصواريخ تنضم للخدمة 2013.. وبناء غواصتين من الجيل المتقدم بألمانيا - بوابة الأهرام". Retrieved 5 June 2014.
- ^ "First Turkish Interceptor Delivered To Egyptian Navy |". Retrieved 5 June 2014.
- ^ Lert, Frédéric (16 February 2015). "Egypt officially signs for 24 Rafales, FREMM frigate, and missiles". IHS Jane's Defence Weekly. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
- ^ "Official French Navy Statement on the Sale of a FREMM Multi-Mission Frigate to Egypt". 13 February 2015.
- ^ "Egyptian Navy would be about to order 4 to 6 Gowind Combat Corvettes from DCNS". navyrecognition.com. 5 March 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
- ^ Binnie, Jeremy (3 February 2014). "Egypt reportedly to exercise option for two more subs". IHS Jane's 360. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
- ^ http://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2015/08/07/l-egypte-et-l-arabie-saoudite-candidates-au-rachat-des-mistrals_4715520_3212.html
- ^ http://www.france24.com/en/20150807-france-mistral-warship-egypt-saudi-arabia-repurchase
External links
