The Egyptian Navy (), also known as the Egyptian Naval Forces, is the maritime branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces. It is the largest navy in the Middle East as well as Africa, and is the twelfth largest (by the number of vessels) navy in the world. The navy protects more than 2,000 kilometers of coastline of the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, defense of approaches to the Suez Canal, and it also supports for army operations.
The majority of the modern Egyptian Navy was created with the help of the Soviet Union in the 1960s.The navy received ships in the 1980s from China and Western sources. In 1989, the Egyptian Navy had 18,000 personnel as well as 2,000 personnel in the Coast Guard. The navy received ships from the United States (US) in the year 1990. US shipbuilder Swiftships has built around 30 boats for the Egyptian Navy including mine hunters, survey vessels, and both steel and aluminium patrol boats.
History Ancient
Egypt has had a navy since Ancient Egyptian times. The Ancient Egyptian Navy was a vital part of the military of ancient Egypt. It helped to transport troops along the Nile River and fighting many battles such as the Battle of the Delta against the Sea Peoples, and played a major role in Egyptian Wars and battles such as the siege of Avaris in c. 1540 BC. The Ancient Egyptian Navy imported many of their ships from countries such as the Kingdom of Cyprus.Kostas (2001) Several Ancient Egyptian royal ships are still present today.
Medieval
Egypt had been the base of a significant navy already in the early Muslim period, mostly manned by native Egyptians, as the Arabs themselves had little experience for the sea. An Egyptian fleet was attested as late as 736 AD in an attack on Byzantine territory. Following Egypt's independence from the Abbasids, the Tulunid regime of Egypt (868–905 AD), Egypt revived its naval power. Retaining tax revenues locally rather than sending them to Baghdad funded the construction of a strong fleet in the eastern Mediterranean and control over Red Sea trade routes. The medieval Egyptian navy reached its peak during the Fatimid period, the Fatimid navy (969–1171 AD), dominated the eastern Mediterranean and protected trade and coasts. Later, under the Sultanate of Egypt during Ayyubid and Mamluk regimes shifted focus on land forces and naval power declined, though fleets were later scrambled in the Red Sea against Portuguese incursions.
Modern 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 then isolated, Muhammad Ali made terms with the British and withdrew 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 being transformed into a British protectorate until being granted independence in 1921.
The Egyptian navy was only peripherally involved in the series of conflicts with Israel. On 22 October 1948, the Egyptian sloop El Amir Farouq was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off Gaza by a motor explosive boat of the Israeli Navy during the Israeli naval campaign in Operation Yoav as part of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.Wandres, J., "Ben-Gurion's Bathtub Corps," Military History, March 2016, p. 67. During the Suez Crisis, Egypt dispatched the Ibrahim el Awal, an ex-British Hunt class destroyer, to Haifa with the aim of shelling the 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.Max Wurmbrand, The Valiant of Israel, p. 80, Massada Press Ltd (1967) Egyptian destroyers and torpedo boats engaged larger British vessels in a move aimed at frustrating 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, eventually sinking it in a brief gun battle. The Egyptian warship was then sunk by escorting destroyer HMS Diana, with 69 surviving Egyptian sailors rescued.Pimlott – editor British Military Operations, 1945–1984, London: Guild Publishing 1984 p. 78
The Egyptian Navy's blockade of Israeli ships in the Strait of Tiran that were headed toward the Israeli port of Eilat was one 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.Saad El Shazly The Crossing of the Suez p. 23 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. 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 ship Bait Shivaa and transport armed ship Hydroma. 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.
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. 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. In the Battle of Baltim, three Egyptian Osa-class missile boats were sunk.
Ranks
Officers
Enlisted
Flags EnsignFlagPennant
Rank flags Vice-admiralRear-admiralSenior on the roads
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, Garoub and Mersa Matruh.
Red Sea Egyptian naval bases on the Red Sea are Hurghada, Safaga, Berenice, and Suez.
Present fleet The Egyptian Navy is structured 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.
Ships
Aircraft The navy lacked its own air arm and depended on the air force for maritime reconnaissance and protection against submarines. The air force's equipment that supported the navy included twelve Gazelle and five Sea King helicopters mounted with antiship and antisubmarine missiles. In mid-1988 the air force also took delivery of the first of six Grumman E-2c Hawkeye aircraft with search and side-looking radar for maritime surveillance purposes.
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. also Russia confirmed the sale of 46 Ka-52Ks to Egypt in December 2015. Russian Helicopters Director-General Alexander Mikheyev said deliveries to Egypt are expected to occur in 2017. In April 2019 Egyptian Navy ordered 24 Agusta Westland AW149 helicoptershttps://janescom.sitefinity.cloud/defence-news/news-detail/d5aedf0d-aa74-4763-9e77-52d09c89dd92
Submarine fleet Egypt has 4 Type 209 German submarines and also operates 4 ex-Chinese Romeo-class submarines which have been revitalized to use Western periscopes, trailing GPS, passive sonars, a fire control system, and the ability to fire US-made Harpoon missiles.
Amphibious fleet
The first Mistral helicopter carrier named after late President Gamal Abdel-Nasser arrived in Alexandria in June 2016. On 16 September 2016, the Egyptian Navy Commander, Admiral Osama Rabie, raised the Egyptian flag on board of the BPC-210 Mistral-class amphibious assault ship (BPC/LHD). Russia and Egypt had signed a deal for Egypt's purchase of 50 Ka-52 Alligator attack helicopters from Russia. The purchase includes the variant of the Ka-52 Katran, which was specifically designed for the Mistrals that Russia had intended to acquire.
Surface fleet Only those escorts capable of operating troop-lift helicopters (Kaman SH-2G Seasprite) are shown. It must, though, be accepted that all surface ships can launch and recover the rubber assault craft known to be used by the army's commando groups. Additionally the two, 1,702 ton Jianghu I class FFGs and the two, 1,479 ton Descubierta class FFGs can supply naval gunfire support.
Patrol forces The Egyptian Navy has a fleet of fast attack craft, many fitted with missile systems. These and the navy-crewed vessels of the Coast Guard, would be deployed to support or prevent amphibious landings. The US shipbuilder Swiftships is one of the main providers of vessels for the Egyptian Navy. It has built around 30 boats for the Egyptian Navy mainly costal patrol crafts 28m for coastal defense, anti-surface operations, maritime security operations and maritime interdiction, surveillance and intelligence gathering, and search and rescue operations.
Equipment Surface-to-air missiles Aster 30 (FREMM multipurpose frigate - - ) Aster 15 (FREMM multipurpose frigate - ) MICA (Gowind-class MEKO 200) RIM-66 () RIM-116 (Ambassador MK III missile boat) RIM-7 () FIM-92 Stinger Avenger () Ship to ship/surface missiles P-270 Moskit 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 Block II with more than 124 km range and 220 kg payload (launched from Ambassador-class FPB/M, Knox-class frigates, Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates and Descubierta-class light frigates). Exocet (MM-40 Block 3) with >180 km range and 165 kg payload (launched from Gowind-class corvettes and FREMM-class frigates). Otomat Mk 2 Block III with >180 km range and 210 kg payload (launched from Ramadan-class FPB/M & October-class FAC/M). SS-N-2C Styx with 80 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)