Egyptian, Russian troops start military exercise

Egyptian and Russian troops started a military exercise as part of their mutual military cooperation, media reports said.

As many as 600 fighters participate in the joint drill on Thursday, dubbed Protectors of Friendship 2, to implement several missions, including troops deployment, joint paratroop operations and military maneuvers to restore control on vital posts and purge it from terrorist elements, Xinhua news agency reported.

According to state-run MENA news agency, the drill targets finding out the tactical characteristics of the weapons, equipment and mechanisms of command and control as well as gaining necessary field skills and tactics used by both sides in implementing various tasks

The Egyptian-Russian war games fall within the two countries' keenness to boost strategic cooperation ties between their armed forces in many fields.

Also on Thursday, the Egyptian and Saudi air forces kicked off several-day drills.

Formations of the most up-to-date fighters from both sides are taking part in "Faisal 11" military exercises that include managing joint air combats via the latest tactics.

The drills aim to exchange expertise among the participating units.

Egypt annually holds several military exercises with Arab, African and Western countries to boost military cooperation and exchange military expertise with friendly states.

On Sunday, The Egyptian-US joint military exercise "The Bright Star" kicked off at a military base in the Arab country.

The 10-day military exercise, which Egypt hosts every two years, is Egypt's largest joint maneuver with a foreign country.

--IANS

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