Egyptian Air Force
The Egyptian Air Force ( Arabic القوات الجوية المصرية al-Quwwāt al-Gawwīya al-Miṣrīya , DMG al-Qūwāt al-Ǧauwīyat al-Miṣrīya , English Egyptian Air Force , EAF for short) are one of four branches of the armed forces of Egypt .
The Egyptian Air Force currently has 25,000 men. The backbone of the air force are General Dynamics F-16s , which form the fourth largest F-16 fleet in the world. In addition, interceptor type Dassault Mirage 2000 , Dassault Rafale and Mikoyan MiG-21 and combat aircraft type McDonnell F-4 used. Six E-2C Hawkeye Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft are currently being converted to Hawkeye 2000 aircraft.
From 2008, Reda Mahmoud Hafez Mohammed was Commander in Chief of the Air Force until his death . The former commanders include important political figures such as Ahmad Schafiq and Husni Mubarak . The Egyptian Air Force has been involved in the civil war in Libya since 2014 .
history
In 1932, an air force consisting of three Egyptian and two British pilots was set up in the British-controlled Kingdom of Egypt . As part of the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936, the establishment of a separate Egyptian air force was established, which was officially founded in 1937. During the Second World War , the Egyptian Air Force took part in reconnaissance and patrol missions, but several pilots deserted with reconnaissance recordings on the Axis powers . In 1945 the Luftwaffe had grown to three fighter squadrons , one transport squadron and one bomber squadron . Three years later, the last of the British staff were laid off. In 1956 the Luftwaffe comprised around 400 aircraft, including modern jet fighters of the De Havilland DH.100 Vampire , Gloster Meteor and MiG-15 types . As part of the military aid of the Eastern Bloc , Czechoslovak and Soviet pilots served in the Egyptian Air Force, but due to a lack of operational skills and training, the latter was only able to intervene to a limited extent in the fighting during the Suez Crisis . During the Six Day War , the Egyptian Air Force lost 300-450 aircraft and 100 pilots to an Israeli air offensive on the morning of the first day of the war, and was thus neutralized for the time of the war. During the 1973 Yom Kippur War , the Air Force operated in a limited role in collaboration with ground-based air defense positions ; The Egyptians scored 5-8 kills with their own planes, but lost 172. After the Camp David Agreement in 1978, Egypt turned its foreign policy to the USA and consequently replaced the Soviet with Western equipment; there is also close cooperation between the Egyptian and US military .
Main active weapon systems of the Egyptian Air Force
Retired aircraft of the Luftwaffe
| plane | origin | use | version | active | Stored | Ordered | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warplanes | |||||||
| Shenyang J-6 (MiG-19 "Farmer") |
 People's Republic of China
|
Light fighter aircraft | F-6 | 72 | |||
| General Dynamics F-16 A "Fighting Falcon" (Peace Vector I) |
 United States
|
Multipurpose fighter | F-16A | 34 | |||
| General Dynamics F-16 B "Fighting Falcon" (Peace Vector I) |
United States
|
Trainer aircraft | F-16B | 5 | |||
| Aero L-39 ZO "Albatros" |
 Czechoslovakia , Czech Republic
|
Trainer aircraft | L-39IN | 13 | |||
| Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 PF "Fishbed" |
 Soviet Union
|
Interceptor | MiG-21PF / PFM | 48 | |||
| plane | origin | use | version | active | Stored | Ordered | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transport helicopter | |||||||
| Mil Wed-6 |
Soviet Union
|
Heavy transport helicopter | Wed-6 | 3 | |||
Individual evidence
- ^ Andrew Mac Gregor: A Military History of Modern Egypt - From the Ottoman Conquest to the Ramadan War , London, 2006, pp. 238f, 245f, 251, 264, 268; Kenneth Pollack: Arabs at War - Military Effectiveness 1948–1991 . Lincoln, 2002, p. 40, p. 124
- ↑ Egypt receives more Rafales, preparing to induct MiG-29s , defenseweb.co.za, April 5, 2017
- ↑ General Swiss Military Journal : March 2017, page 49, first demo flight of the MiG-35 , accessed on May 5, 2017
- ↑ a b Russian-made fighter plane crashes in Egypt: RIA , Reuters, November 3, 2018
- ↑ Algeria, Egypt unveil Chinese UAVs , defenseweb.co.za, November 2, 2018
- ^ Egypt orders eight more Airbus C295s. Flug Revue, July 16, 2014, accessed July 19, 2014 .
- ↑ Egypt has received at least 12 Ka-52 helicopters , August 10, 2018
