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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 28 Sep. - 4 Oct. 2000 Issue No. 501 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 28 Sep. - 4 Oct. 2000 Issue No. 501
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Elections Region International Economy Opinion Culture Special Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Friendly reds
By Amira IbrahimAs part of its military cooperation with Europe, Egypt has taken part in joint naval exercises with France, Italy and Germany by deploying 12 naval units off Egypt's northern coast. Code-named "Cleopatra 2000", the war games lasted for 10 days.
Egypt and France have organised joint naval exercises every other year since 1988. In 1996, Italy joined for the first time and has been participating ever since. This year, Germany also chose to participate.
The exercise took place 250 nautical miles off Alexandria and was divided into three stages. The first involved pre-sailing conferences for commanders to draw up the exercise, training and action plans.
The second included pre-training and organising coordination, as well as the exchange of visits by the units' crews to promote mutual understanding and unify training concepts. The third stage, which began on Sunday, was a mock sea battle.
The manoeuvres included surface gunnery, air defence gunnery, search-and-rescue operations, anti-submarine warfare and maritime interception. In the mock battle, "enemy" naval units guarded a ship carrying an important consignment and came under sea and air attacks from intercepting "friendly" units.
Of the 12 participating naval units, Egypt contributed seven: a US-made Knox-class destroyer, Rashid, a US Perry-class frigate, four missile-launching boats and a rescue ship. Egypt also contributed a number of F-16 jet fighters, an E-2C early warning plane, SH2G and Beachcraft helicopters.
France participated with three vessels: the destroyer Suffren, equipped with Masurca missile ramps, two 100-mm gun mounts and four anti-submarine L5 torpedo launchers; the destroyer La Motte Picquet, carrying a Lynx-class helicopter; and the supply ship Marne, carrying an Alouette-class helicopter. France also provided two Mirage-2000 warplanes and a C-135 fueling aircraft.
Italy contributed the frigate Audace, carrying an AB-212 helicopter on board, as well as two submarine simulators and two aircraft simulators for air gunnery training.
Germany, participating for the first time, contributed the anti-submarine frigate Augsburg as well as a naval target for air-to-surface attacks.
At first light on Sunday, the units participating in the mock battle set out, splitting into two forces: a blue force representing the "enemy" and consisting of Egyptian, French and German vessels, and a "friendly" red force, made up of vessels from Egypt, France and Italy. France's Marne played the role of the "enemy" ship carrying the important cargo and guarded by "enemy" units that came under attack from a "friendly" force, under air cover provided by Egyptian F-16 fighters.
Yesterday morning, the blue and red forces teamed up for a joint search-and-rescue operation, with the Egyptian destroyer Rashid posing as a "ship in trouble."
"A principal target of Cleopatra 2000 is coordination and cooperation between the various navies in humanitarian missions, particularly dealing with maritime disasters," commented the commander of the Egyptian frigate.
Cleopatra 2000 is the biggest naval manoeuvre to be staged in the Mediterranean, stated Admiral Tawfiq Abu Gindia, deputy commander of the navy's training sector. He indicated that Germany was partaking for the first time at its own request.
Speaking to Al-Ahram Weekly, Commander Joachim Geffers of the frigate Augsburg expressed belief that his crew would benefit from rubbing shoulders with the Egyptians.
"I think we can learn from each other a lot. Each navy has its own experiences and it will be very fruitful to train together," Geffers said.
The operational area for the German navy has expanded over the last decade from the limits of the Northern Sea to the Mediterranean, Geffers explained.
Speaking to the Weekly, Captain Christopher Antoine, commanding officer of the French destroyer Suffren, expanded that countries participating in Cleopatra 2000 are concerned with maintaining Mediterranean security as well as improving the performance of their forces. "We have been determined to build up good relations with countries in the area. The French government, together with the Egyptian, Italian and now German governments, have focused on this for a long time. We are working to develop this approach concerned with the security of the Mediterranean," stated Antoine.
