Egypt concludes naval exercises with US, UAE and Saudi

Cairo : Egypt's military on Saturday said that it has concluded joint naval exercises in the Red Sea with the US, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia.

"Eagle Response 2018" began on July 24 and involved special forces from participating countries, said spokesperson of the armed forces Tamer al-Refai in a statement.

The USS Jason Dunham (DDG-109), an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in the US Navy, took part in the exercise, Xinhua news agency reported.

The drill included training on joint combat activities for all elements of a naval battle, conducting maritime security and encountering probable terrorist attacks, the statement said.

It added that the joint exercises were aimed at promoting skills of the participating units, improving military cooperation with the participating countries and getting acquainted with the latest naval combat techniques.

Egypt annually holds military exercises with Arab, African and western countries to boost military cooperation and exchange military expertise.

In June, a joint naval and air exercise involving Egypt, Greece and Cyprus took place along Egypt's Mediterranean coast. Last September, Egypt held "Bright Star" war games with US troops for the first time in eight years.