Egyptian Air Force Totally Explained

Everything about Egypt Air Force totally explained

The Egyptian Air Force, or EAF (), is the aviation branch of the Egyptian armed forces. The EAF is headed by an Air Marshal (Lieutenant General equivalent). Currently, the commander of the Egyptian Air Force is Air Marshal Magdy Galal Sharawi. The force's motto is 'Higher and higher for the sake of glory' (). Currently the EAF has over 567 combat aircraft and 149 armed helicopters, making it the largest in both Africa and the Middle East. It is currently the strongest and most developed in Africa. The EAF is one of the strongest in the Middle East along with the Turkish and Israeli Air Forces respectively. The backbone of the Egyptian Air Force is 220 F-16 Fighter Jets, thus making it the 4th largest operator of F-16's in the world.

History

Establishment

In late 1928, the Parliament of Egypt proposed the creation of an Egyptian Air Force. The Egyptian ministry of war announced that it needed volunteers for the new arm to become the first four Egyptian military pilots. Over 200 Egyptian officers volunteered, but in the end only three succeeded in passing strict medical tests and technical examinations.
   These three went to RAF number 4 Flying Training School at Abu Suwayer near the Suez Canal, where they were trained on a variety of aircraft. After graduation they travelled to England for specialized training.
   On November 2, 1930 King Fuad announced the creation of the Egyptian Army Air Force (EAAF) and in September 1931, the British De Havilland aircraft company won a contract to supply Egypt with 10 De Havilland Gipsy Moth trainers.
   The first commander of the EAAF was a Canadian squadron leader, Victor Hubert Tait. Tait selected staff and weapons and built air-bases. In 1934 the British government provided 10 Avro 626 aircraft, which were the first real Egyptian military planes. A further 17 626s together with Hawker Audaxes for army cooperation and close support and Avro Ansons for VIP work followed shortly afterwards. In 1937 the Egyptian Army Air Force was separated from the army command and became an independent branch named the Royal Egyptian Air Force (REAF). New bases were built in the Suez canal region and the western desert.
   In 1938 the REAF received 2 squadrons of Gloster Gladiator biplane fighters and a squadron of then modern Westland Lysander reconnaissance aircraft, (Egypt was the last nation to use the Lysander in action, during the 1948 Arab campaign against Israel).

World War II

Italian and German invasion, the Royal Air Force established more bases in Egypt during World War II. The Egyptian Air Force was sometimes treated as a part of the Royal Air Force, at other times a policy of neutrality was followed. As a result of this vacillation, few additional aircraft were supplied by Britain, however the arm did receive its first modern fighters, Hawker Hurricanes and a small number of Curtiss P-40 Tomahawks. In the immediate post war period, cheap war surplus aircraft, including a large number of Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IXs were acquired. The REAF also bought Macchi MC205V fighters and trainers from Italy.

The 1948 War

Palestine and the founding of Israel on 14 May 1948, Egypt declared war along with other Arab countries on the new state. The Egyptian Air Force contributed to this conflict with C-47 Dakotas and Spitfires and managed to shoot down two Israeli aircraft but suffered heavy losses. Egyptian air force Spitfires also attacked Royal Air Force Spitfires, which the Egyptian government incorrectly believed were to be handed over to Israel. The first raid surprised the Royal Air Force, and resulted in the destruction of several RAF aircraft on the ground and the death of an airman. The British were uncertain whether the attacking Spitfires had came from Arab or Israeli forces. When a second raid followed shortly afterwards it met a well prepared response, and the entire Egyptian force was shot down - the last aircraft being baited for some time as the RAF pilots attempted to get a close look at its markings. This was the only occasion Spitfires fought each other.
Relations with Britain were soon restored, although poor relations with Israel ensured that arms purchases continued. New Mk22 Spitfires were purchased to replace the earlier models. In late 1949 Egypt received its first jet fighter, it was the British Gloster Meteor F4 and shortly after De Havilland Vampire FB5s. However the policy of the Nasser government lead to Egypt also acquiring aircraft from the Eastern Block.
The first Soviet aircraft arrived in Egypt in 1955. Initial deliveries included MiG-15 fighters, Ilyushin Il-28 bombers, Il-14 transports, and Yak-11 trainers. Instructors from Czechoslovakia accompanied these aircraft. This period in Egypt's air force history also yielded the first indigenous aircraft production as the country began manufacturing its own Czech-designed Gomhouria Bü 181 Bestmann primary trainers.

The Suez Crisis

Nasser decided to nationalize the Suez Canal in 1956, Egypt was attacked by Israel, France, and the United Kingdom in what came to be known as the Suez Crisis. Heavy losses were sustained by the Egyptian side. The conflict, though devastating militarily, turned out to be a political victory for Egypt and resulted in the total withdrawal of the aggressor forces from the country. It also forced the EAF to begin rebuilding its Air Force with non-British help.
   Soon after the war, Egypt formed a political union with Syria and Yemen and the Egyptian Air Force became known as the United Arab Republic Air Force.
   By the mid-1960s, British aircraft were replaced completely by Soviet hardware. The Soviet Union became the principal supplier of the EAF and many other Arab states. This allowed the EAF to greatly modernize and boost its combat effectiveness. The MiG-21 Fishbed arrived in the early 1960s, bringing with it a Mach 2 capability. The MiG-21 would remain Egypt's primary fighter for the next two decades. In 1967, Egypt had 200 MiG-21s. The air force also began flying the Sukhoi Su-7 fighter/bomber in the mid-1960s.
   Egypt also produced Helwan HA-300 its first supersonic aircraft.

The Six-Day War

Six-Day War the EAF was destroyed on the ground in mere 2 hours after Israel's air force destroyed the airbases in a sudden attack against Egypt. Subsequently, the Soviets again sent a large number of aircraft and trainers to Egypt in order to help revitalize the EAF.
On 14 July 1967, using what planes were left, the (EAF) launched a strike on Israeli targets, located east of the Suez Canal, forcing the Israelis to withdraw temporarily from the front line.

The War of Attrition

"During the war of attrition, the Israeli air force had a favorite ambush tactic", he told Aviation Week and Space Technology. "They would penetrate with two aircraft at medium altitude where they'd be quickly picked up by radar, We would scramble four or eight to attack them. But they'd another dozen fighters trailing at extremely low altitude below radar coverage. As we climbed to the attack they'd zoom up behind and surprise us. My regiment lost MiGs to this ambush tactic three times. But we learned the lesson and practiced the same tactics. In the final fights over Deversoir, we ambushed some Mirages the same way, and my own 'finger four' formation shot down four Mirages with the loss of one MiG."
Yet the EAF couldn't regain its lost capability due to reconstitution following the 1967 debacle. With so many inexperienced pilots having to be exposed to combat, many were shot down while the surviors brought back valuable experience. Several EAF pilots scored victories against the IAF during this period.

October War 1973

   EAF aircraft were held in reserve after that point, mainly concentrating on air defence of air fields in conjunction with the Sa-3 'Pechora' while the more mobile Sa-6 'Gainful' protected Egyptian forces at low and medium level aided by the ZSU-23-4SP and shoulder-held Sa-7 SAMs.
   Despite these limitations, the EAF conducted offensive sorties from time to time with the Tu-16 firing AS-5 'Kent' stand off weapons causing considerable panic behind Israeli lines. The Su-7BM was used for quick strafe attacks on Israeli columns and the Mirage IIIE (sometimes confused with the Mirage 5) donated by Libya carried out long-range attacks deep inside Sinai at Bir Gifgafa.
   However, when Israeli armoured forces crossed in a gape between the two Egyptian armies into 'Africa' (West of the Suez canal) and in the process destroying Egyptian SAM sites on the East Bank the EAF was forced into battle against the far weaponry-superior IAF. The EAF scored victories and continued to contest IAF operations, while also launching attacks on Israeli ground forces in the East Bank of the Suez Canal. In most of the engagements, Egyptian MiG-21s (of all types) challenged (mainly) Israeli Mirage IIICJ/Nesher.
   The IAF didn't operate freely and didn't have the air supremacy like the previous conflict, the 1967 war. Egyptian MiGs were used with their better maneuverability that most IAF air crafts in that war to conduct new tactics and lessons learned from the 1967 war.
   In Al-Mansourah air battle, the EAF achieved an overwhelmingly high kill ratio against the IAF which, in an Operation Moked-styl attack, tried to regain air supremacy by destroying the core center of the airfields net in the delta to enable it to attack the Egyptian ground forces. The IAF lost more than three times the loses of the EAF in that battle, affirming Egyptian air supremacy.

Bright Star

Bright Star is a joint / combined exercise by American and Egyptian forces in Egypt involving tactical air, ground, naval and special operations forces field training. Conducted every two years.
Bright Star was first conducted in the summer of 1980 as a single service bilateral ground maneuver event involving only ground forces from the United States and Egypt. Bright Star began to evolve in 1985 as air forces of both the U.S. and Egypt were added to this ground forces exercise. This marked the beginning of Bright Star as a joint endeavor for the US– meaning more than one U.S. service was involved. Special forces and naval forces of both countries joined the exercise in 1987.
Other allied nations also join Bright Star exercises in Egypt including France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.

Upgrade and development

Beginning 1982, the EAF began receiving F-16 fighters under the Peace Vector Program. In 1986, it received Mirage 2000 fighters and was licensed to manufacture them with 20 being produced and 1 lost in a training sortie. Egypt also license built Alphajets, Gazelles and Embraer EMB 312 Tucano airplanes.
   The Camp David Accords caused a change in the composition of the EAF. The EAF began to rely on American, French and even some Chinese planes. The addition of these planes along with the ones already in the EAF gave it an interesting composition.
   In 1987 the E-2C Hawkeye Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) entered service and was upgraded with advanced AN/APS-145 radars. The EAF also upgraded its F-16 fighters to enable them to fire the AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missile.
   The EAF also operates 35 AH-64 Apache attack helicopter which were initially delivered as AH-64A variant but were later upgraded to AH-64D standard. The Egypt Air Force had rebuilt their AH-64A's into the D model. CH-47D's are also on order. The Egyptian Navy recently received the SH-2G Seasprite to replace and supplement their older Sea King and Gazelle helicopters. 68 Grob G-115's and 80 K-8 Karakorum trainers were ordered to update the fleet. They are still being delivered.
   In the late 1990s, then Air Marshal Ahmed Shafik (and the incumbent Civil Aviation minister) expressed the ambitions of the Egyptian Air Force for the 21st century.
   The EAF hopes to obtain the modern technology it needs to deter any aggression, help its allies, and protect Egyptian national security. This technology includes space and air reconnaissance systems; airborne command and control aircraft; advanced next generation fighters; and air refueling and heavy transport aircraft. Egypt is also one of many nations believed to have some interests in buying the JF-17 from the Sino-Pakistani consortium. In 2002, Egypt requested 12 F-15E Strike Eagle strike fighter from the US. Israel quickly moved to block the sale, citing that in all Egypt's recent military exercises Israel was the target. The Americans refused to ban the sale of F-15s to Egypt at first but later agreed when Israel presented further evidence that Israel was in fact the "enemy" in all of Egypt's military exercises.
   In November 6, 2006, Egypt began talks with Mikoyan over the possible sale of the MiG-29SMT to Egypt. In 2007, Egypt further examined prospects for delivery of a large batch of MiG-29SMT's. The deal would include offsets in an effort by Russia to regain Egypt as an ally.

The EAF today

Currently, the backbone of the EAF are 217 F-16's, making Egypt the 4th largest F-16 operator in the world. The EAF also operates 19 Mirage 2000's. It continues to fly 32 upgraded F-4 Phantoms, Dassault Mirage Vs, C-130 Hercules. 6 E-2C Hawkeye AWACS aircraft which are being upgraded to Hawkeye 2000 standard provide AEW&C capability.

Insignia

The Roundel of the EAF consists of three circles, with the outside one being red, the middle one white, and the inner one being black. These are the colors of the Egyptian flag.
The former roundels of the EAF included a similar variant with two green stars used from 1961 to 1973 thus the current insignia was also used during that war, and in both cases the current Egyptian flag was used, and one with the old Egyptian crescent and three stars on a green background.

Aircraft Inventory

! ignore="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Aircraft ! ignore="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Origin ! ignore="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Type ! ignore="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Versions ! ignore="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|In service ! ignore="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Notes |

- | Aero L-39 Albatros || || Advanced trainer || L-39ZO || 10 || ex-Libyan |

- | Aero L-59 Super Albatros || || Advanced trainer
Ground attack || L-59E || 48 || |

- | Aérospatiale SA-342 Gazelle ||
||
Naval Patrol
Battlefield Scout
Anti-tank||Total
SA 342K
SA 342L
SA342M ||84
9
40
35 || license-built by Arab British Helicopter, out of 108 originally delivered and licensed built |

- | Antonov An-74 Coaler || || Tactical transport || An-74T-200 || 3 || Six more on order |

- | Antonov An-24 Coke || || Maritime patrol || An-24 || 3 || |

- | Beechcraft 1900 || ||
Maritime patrol
ELINT
||
1900C
1900C ||
6
3
|| |

- | Boeing AH-64 Apache || ||
Attack helicopter
Attack helicopter ||AH-64D ||36 ||additional 6 AH-64D Longbow being delivered, ordered in 2004, an additional 18 AH-64D Longbow are required pending approval of the US Congress through FMS. All AH-64A were converted to D Longbow standard |

- | Boeing CH-47 Chinook ||
||
Assault helicopter
Assault helicopter ||Total CH-47C
CH-47D
CH-47D ||19
3
12
4 || license built by Agusta, of the 15 C model delivered, 12 were updated to D standard and added to the 4 D models received in 1999. The remaining 3 C models will be relegated to navigational training |

- | Chengdu J-7 Airguard || || Interceptor || F-7B || 60 || out of 120 delivered |

- | Dassault Mirage 5 || ||
Fighter
Advanced trainer
Ground Attack
Reconnaissance || Total
5E2
5SDD
5SDE
5SDR || 60
12
6
36
6 || out of 82 delivered |

- | Dassault Mirage 2000 || ||
Adv. trainer
Multirole fighter ||Total
2000BM
2000EM ||19
3
16 || out of 20 delivered, license built by Arab OI, one lost (crashed on take off) in a trainning sortie |

- | Dassault-Breguet/Dornier Alpha Jet ||
||
Advanced trainer
Ground attack ||Total
MS1
MS2 ||44
30
14 || license built by Arab OI |

- | de Havilland Canada DHC-5 Buffalo || ||
Tactical transport
Navigation training ||Total DHC-5D
DHC-5D ||9
5
4 || |

- | Embraer EMB 312 Tucano || || Basic Trainer || EMB 312 || 54 || license built by Arab OI, out of 134 built (80 of which delivered to Iraq) |

- | Grob G-115 || || Primary trainer || G-115E || 68 || |

- | Grumman E-2 Hawkeye || || AEW || E-2C || 6 || Conversion to E-2 Hawkeye 2000 standard in progress, due to completion by end of 2008 |

- | Hiller UH-12 || || Training helicopter || UH-12E || 17 || |

- | Hongdu K-8 Karakorum ||
|| Advanced trainer || K-8E || 80 || 70 of which are license built by Arab OI, an additional 40 are ordered for delivery by 2010 |

- | Kaman SH-2 Seasprite || || ASW helicopter || SH-2G/E || 13 || Electronic/Navigation Suite upgraded to Egyptian Navy requirements, 10 originally delivered, 1 lost due to pilot error, 4 surplus added to replace the lost unit and the remaining 3 as spare |

- | Lockheed C-130 Hercules || ||
Tactical transport
Tactical transport
EW/ELINT ||Total
C130H
C130H30
EC130H||26
22
2
2 || including 3 C-130H purchased from the Danish Air Force in 2004, out of 30 delivered, 4 were lost at different times, one of which during the Cyprus operation |

- | Lockheed F-16 Fighting Falcon ||
||
Multirole Fighter
Advanced trainer
Multirole Fighter
Advanced trainer || Total
F-16A
F-16B
F-16C
F-16D || 220
34
8
136
42 || 46 of the F-16C/D are license built by TUSAS of Turkey. An additional 24 F-16C being ordered under the Peace Vector VI, 5 of which delivered in 2005. About 14 were lost during the 80s and 90s, replacement received, one was damaged upon landing, but is being fixed in the USA, awaiting re-deployment. |

- | McDonnell-Douglas F-4 Phantom II || || Fighter Bomber || F-4E || 32 || out of 46 delivered |

- | Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 Fishbed || ||
Fighter
Interceptor
Reconnaissance
Adv. trainer || Total
MF
PFM
R
UM || 62
24
25
12
1 || out of over 360 delivered, some may be used for attrition |

- | Mil Mi-6 Hook || || Heavy lift helicopter || || 9 || out of 20 delivered |

- | Mil Mi-8 Hip || ||

Assault/Gunship

Gunship

Command

Jamming

Reconnaissance

Ambulance

Artillery Observation ||

Mi-8T

Mi8TVK

Mi-8PPA

Mi-8MV

Mi-8R

Mi-8MB

Mi-8K ||42

16

10

3

4

4

3

2 || out of over 140 delivered |

- | Mil Mi-17 Hip-H || || Assault helicopter || || 20 || |

- | Westland Sea King || || ASW helicopter || MK 47 ||6 || Egyptian variant of the British HAS2 model |

- | Westland Commando || ||
Assault helicopter
Assault helicopter
EW helicopter||Total
MK1
MK2
MK2E ||24
5
17
2 ||
|

- | Sikorsky S-70 Black Hawk || || Assault helicopter || UH-60A || 4 || 18 additional on order from US surplus |

- | |}

Presidential and Governmental Fleet

In addition to Air Force aircraft, a number of aircraft are directly under government control (Presidential Fleet), including:

In Reserve

40 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 Flogger - Multi-role Fighter, out of 48 received (2 donated to the USA and 6 to China)

48 Sukhoi Su-20C Fitter-C - Fighter Bomber

Obsolete and Retired

80 Sukhoi Su-7B Fitter - Ground Attack, out of 160 received

120 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 Fresco - Fighter and Ground Attack, out of more than 440 received

19 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 Farmer - Strike Fighter, out of more than 145 delivered

40 Shenyang F-6 Farmer - Chinese copy of MiG-19) Interceptor Fighter, out of 72 received

6 FT-6 - Chinese copy of MiG-19 Advanced Trainer, out of 18 received

19 Tupolev Tu-16 Badger - Heavy and Long Range Bomber, out of more 32 received

12 IlyushinIl-28 Beagle - Light Bomber and Maritime Patrol/reconnaissance, out of more than 120 received

30 Antonov An-12 Cub - out of more than 45 received

119 Aero L-29 Delfin - Basic Trainer, out of more than 170 received

12 Mil Mi-4 Hound - Utility transport helicopter, out of over 140 receivedFurther Information

Get more info on 'Egypt Air Force'.

External Link Exchanges

Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:

<a href="http://egyptian_air_force.totallyexplained.com">Egyptian Air Force Totally Explained</a>

Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned.