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Al-Ahram Weekly 28 Oct. - 3 Nov. 1999 Issue No. 453 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 28 Oct. - 3 Nov. 1999 Issue No. 453
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Profile Study Special Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Learning from make-believe
By Amira IbrahimMilitary forces from Egypt, the US, Britain and eight other countries staged an amphibious landing of troops on Friday in the Omayad area of the northern coast, all part of a comprehensive scenario drawn up for the Bright Star military exercise.
The scenario assumes that a country attacks a neighbouring country and succeeds in penetrating 70 to 80 kilometres on the northwestern axis. As the attacking forces refuse to withdraw from the territories they have occupied, coalition forces launch an all-out war to drive the enemy out and restore stability.
The two-hour amphibious landing started with a pair of Egyptian F-16 aircraft engaging a pair of Mirage 2000 aircraft representing hostile intruders. The next phase of the operation was the introduction of the pre-landing forces at Al-Omayad Beach.
A combined rifle company made up of Greek, Italian, UK and US troops then landed on the beach. Egyptian troops followed, landing from a pair of British landing craft from the helicopter carrier HMS Ocean.
Deployed directly into the water from ships, Egyptian and American Amphibious Assault Vehicles (AAV) landed on the beach.
Two US Landing Craft Air Cushion LACA from the USS Bataan landed two Egyptian M60A3 main battle tanks representing the Egyptian armoured battalion. Another Egyptian platoon of airborne forces landed from an American light hovercraft, launched from the Italian ship San Giorgio.
Egyptian soldiers jumped out on the sand, raced up the beach and shouted "Allahu Akbar!" ("God is Great!") at an invisible enemy.
The air assault began when a British Royal Air Force CH-47 Chinook landed a platoon of Dutch marines. Two US Marine Corps CH-46 Sea Knights also brought in a platoon. Another Egyptian airborne platoon was injected by US CH-53 Sea Stallions.
Finally, soldiers from Italy's San Marco Battalion and Greek marines parachuted down from Italian Augusta 212s.
Egypt's Defence Minister Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi and US Defence Secretary William Cohen watched the landing from stands on the beach along with British Defence Minister Geoffrey Hoon and Commander of the American Central Command Gen Anthony Zinni.
Speaking to the Weekly, Maj Gen Amin Hussein, chief of the Egyptian Training Authority, said cooperation and coordination among forces and their weapons were the lessons to be learnt from the exercise. "It is of great significance to learn how to unify signal communication equipment, the employment of forces and equipment and how to exchange information and overall control," Hussein said.
He praised the Egyptian officers and soldiers. "Egyptian troops are highly trained and experienced with war plans and strategies. What we really gained out of the military exercises was getting familiar with hi-tech equipment," Hussein said.
Egypt's participation involved land and mechanical armoured and artillery troops. In addition to 30,000 Egyptian personnel, the navy participated with two frigates, one destroyer, four missile boats, two mine hunters, two personnel carriers, one landing ship, two recovery ships and one naval special force company. The air force joined with 188 planes and the necessary logistical and technical support .
According to the scenario, the second stage, conducted from 22 October to 1 November, includes mobilising forces to attack and destroy the enemy.
Following the successful landing on Friday, troops moved rapidly and succeeded in breaking through the enemy's major defence lines.
A computer-guided command exercise was performed on Sunday in which commanders were able to receive satellite images and strategic information about the battlefield.
On Monday, when an assault plan was carried out, Egyptian and US artillery staged a live firing exercise using simulated targets, moving from defence to attack and threatening the enemy's major battle groups.
The biennial Bright Star war games brought together 11 nations in a show of force that has been a tradition since 1981. Jordan, the Netherlands, Germany and Greece joined this year's drills, the largest coalition gathering since the 1991 Gulf War. Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, France, Italy and Britain contributed to the exercise.
The commander of the Jordanian contingent said he believed an Arab military exercise could be possible. "Arab participation in military exercises should increase," he said. "This would be a start towards an Arab military exercise held once every two or three years," he added.
The deputy commander of the US Central Command, Lt Gen Michael Dodson, described the manoeuvres as a great step forward. "Anyone associated with the combined armed exercise knows how complex it is even if it is in one country. Bringing together all these countries is a great achievement," Dodson told the Weekly.
The US aircraft carrier John F Kennedy is close to the Egyptian coast as it takes part in the Bright Star exercises.
"Welcome aboard the proudest aircraft carrier in the world," Rear Admiral J Michael Johnson, commander of Carrier Group Six and the JF Kennedy Battle Group says. The flat-top is sailing 60 miles from the Egyptian coast.
"This is the largest naval exercise we have conducted in many years," Johnson said. "We have 54 ships operating together and cooperate with NATO ships as well as Egyptian ships and others from all over the world. We essentially came here to do the exercise off Egypt's coast."
The JFK is providing air support to land and marine exercises, contributing F-18, F-16 fighters and E-2C aircraft. According to Johnson, around 200 flights are conducted daily.
The Kennedy group consists of 12 other ships, two submarines, two frigates, three missile destroyers, two regular destroyers, a cruiser, a store ship for supplies and a landing craft carrier.
"We fly continuously," Johnson said. "It does not matter what kind of weather it is, be it day or night. We have 78 aircraft on board, 50 of which are considered strikers capable of carrying out air-to-air missions and air-to-ground missions anywhere in the world. We have four radar airplanes and four electronic warfare planes. We have a helicopter squadron that we use for all types of missions including search and rescue, combat search and rescue."
