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Military drills

Observers from 13 countries invited to Russia-Egypt anti-terror drills

The basic phase of the "Defenders of Friendship-2018" drills will be held on October 24-26

© Alexandr Ryumin/TASS

MOSCOW, October 15. /TASS/. Military observers from 13 countries will observe the Russian-Egyptian ‘Defenders of Friendship-2018’ anti-terror drills, the press office of Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Monday.

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Russia-Egypt first anti-terrorism drills

"At the invitation of the Egyptian side, representatives of the defense ministries from the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the State of Kuwait, Bahrein, Oman, Sudan, Jordan, Greece, Cyprus, Serbia, the Republic of Belarus, Armenia and Kazakhstan have been invited to observe the drills of airborne forces of Russia and Egypt," the press office said.

Official events on the occasion of receiving Russian paratroopers and the commencement of the joint drills were held the other day on the territory of the military base of an Egyptian Special Operations battalion.

The basic phase of the ‘Defenders of Friendship-2018’ drills will be held on October 24-26. Overall, the maneuvers will involve over 400 paratroopers from both countries, more than 15 helicopters and aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Force and the Egyptian Air Force, and also six Russian BMD-2 and BTR-D armored vehicles that will be air-dropped using Russian-made parachutes.

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