The Egyptianmilitary, among the largest in the region, includes an Army, Navy, Air Force and Air Defense Command. The armed forces inventory includes equipment from the United States, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, the former Soviet Union, and the People's Republic of China. Equipment from the former Soviet Union is being progressively replaced by more modern American, French, and British equipment, a significant portion of which is built under license in Egypt. To bolster stability and moderation in the region, Egypt has provided military assistance and training to a number of African and Arab states. Egypt remains a strong military and strategic partner of NATO.
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 18,164,353 (2000 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 11,766,949 (2000 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 704,373 (2000 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $4.04 billion (FY99/00)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 4.1% (FY99/00)
The Egyptianmilitary can only be understood by relative comparison to a nation it has fought nearly all of its wars with: Israel.
The comparative military capabilities of two nations where one is developing and the other is developed is not as simple as glancing towards the military budget expressed in U.S. dollars.
Although the Egyptian Navy is the smallest branch of the military, it is large by Middle Eastern standards.
Egyptianmilitary planners attempted to pacify the region with the help of Yemeni Republican forces; however, their task was made even more complex when royalist forces were backed by Saudi, Jordanian, Iranian, and British support.
Egyptianmilitary thinkers have debated the reasons why their forces were sent to Yemen.
Egyptian air and naval forces began bombing and shelling raids in the Saudi southwestern city of Najran and the coastal town of Jizan, which were staging points for royalist forces.
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