Egyptian navy
| Egyptian Navy | |
|---|---|
| القوات البحرية المصرية | |
Naval Ensign
|
|
| Active | 1800 - Present (217 years) |
| Country | Egypt |
| Branch |
Egyptian Coast Guard Egyptian Navy Thunderbolt Egyptian Naval Aviation |
| Type | Navy |
| Size | 18,500 active (As of 2014[update]) 14,000 Reserve (As of 2014[update]) 32,500 Total (As of 2014[update]) 245 vessels (As of 2014[update]) |
| Part of |
.svg){kind=small} Egyptian Armed Forces
|
| Headquarters | Alexandria |
| Colours | Blue, Red, White and Black |
| Anniversaries | 21 October |
| Equipment | Current Fleet |
| Commanders | |
| Commander in Chief of the Navy | Rear Admiral Ahmed Khaled Hassan Saeed |
| Chief of Staff of the Navy | Rear Admiral Mohamed Abdel Aziz El Sayed |
| Insignia | |
| Ceremonial Flag |
 |
| Insignia | Egyptian Navy ranks |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Attack | Dassault Rafale, F-16 Fighting Falcon |
| Electronic warfare |
Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye |
| Fighter | Rafale, F-16 Fighting Falcon |
| Helicopter | Aérospatiale Gazelle, Kaman SH-2G Super Seasprite, Westland Sea King, NH90 |
The Egyptian Navy is the maritime branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces. It is the largest navy in the Middle East and Africa, and is the sixth largest in the world measured by the number of vessels. The navy's missions include protection of more than 2,000 kilometers of coastline of the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, defense of approaches to the Suez Canal, and support for army operations. The majority of the Egyptian Navy was created with the help of the Soviet Union in the 1960s. The navy received ships in the 1980s from China and other, western, sources. In 1989, the Egyptian Navy had 18,000 personnel as well as 2,000 personnel in the Coast Guard.
Egypt has had a navy since Ancient Egyptian times. The Ancient Egyptian Navy was a vital part of the military of ancient Egypt, helping to transport troops along the Nile River and fighting many battles such as the Battle of the Delta against the Sea Peoples. The Ancient Egyptian Navy imported many of their ships from countries such as the Kingdom of Cyprus. Several Ancient Egyptian solar ships are still present today.
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 effectively a British colony until the 1950s.
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Wikipedia