Egyptian Armed Forces The Egypt ian Armed Forces are the largest in Africa , and the Middle East , and is the 10th most powerful in the world , consisting of the Egyptian Army , Egyptian Navy , Egyptian Air Force and Egyptian Air Defense Command . In addition , Egypt maintains large paramilitary force s . The Central Security Forces comes under the control of the ministry of interior . The Egyptian Border Guard Forces and the Egyptian National Guard comes under the control of the Ministry of Defence . Overview . The Commander - in - Chief of the Armed Forces , the senior uniformed officer , is currently General Abdel Fattah el - Sisi and the Chief of Staff is currently Lieutenant General Sedki Sobhi . The Armed Forces ' inventory includes equipment from different countries around the world . Equipment from the former Soviet Union is being progressively replaced by more modern U . S . , French , and British equipment , a significant portion of which is built under license in Egypt , such as the M1 Abrams tank . To bolster stability and moderation in the region , Egypt has provided military assistance and training to a number of other African and Arab states . Egypt remains a strong military and strategic partner and is a participant in NATO ' s Mediterranean Dialogue forum . The Egyptian military is one of the strongest in the region , and gives Egypt regional military supremacy rivaled only by Israel , besides being one of the strongest in Africa . Egypt is one of the few countries in the Middle East , and the only Arab state , with a reconnaissance satellite and has launched another one in 2007 . In January 2011 , a delegation led by the chief of staff of Egypt ' s armed forces , Lt . Gen . Sami Hafez Enan , was in Washington , D . C . , although the visit was truncated due to the protests . The sessions , an annual country - to - country military coordination , were being led for the U . S . by Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Alexander Vershbow . A meeting with Adm . Mike Mullen , chairman of the U . S . Joint Chiefs of Staff , and other talks had been planned to extend to 2 February . However , in light of events in Egypt , the delegation left Washington to return home . Before their Friday night departure , Vershbow urged the two dozen Egyptian military representatives " to exercise ' restraint ' " . Senior members of the military can convene the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces , so during the course of the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 , when Mubarak resigned and transferred power to this body on 11 February 2011 . On Sunday 12 August 2012 , new president Mohamed Morsi announced a series of military appointments . Hussein Tantawi , the minister of defence and the commander - in - chief of the Armed Forces , were both retired . Morsi also retired Sami Anan , the Army ’ s Chief of Staff . Morsi awarded both men state medals and appointed them as advisors to the president . Thirdly , the president appointed the head of the military intelligence , Abdul Fatah al - Sisi , as Minister of Defence to replace Tantawi . Sedki Sobhi , the commander of the Third Army , was appointed as Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces . Morsi also retired the Commander of the Navy , Mohab Memish , and appointed him as head of the Suez Canal Authority . On 3 July , the head of the Egyptian Armed Forces , General Abdel Fattah el - Sisi , announced President Mohamed Morsi removal from power , suspension of the constitution , and new presidential and Shura Council elections . The severe crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood commenced . responding to mass demonstrations took streets all over Egypt . Politics and business . The Armed Forces enjoy considerable power , prestige and independence within the Egyptian state . During almost the entire history of the Republic of Egypt , active or retired military officers have been head of the Egyptian state . The one democratically - elected civilian who served as president was removed by a military coup after only one year ( July 2012 - July 2013 ) . Starting with the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 , which created the Republic of Egypt , and was organized by the Free Officers Movement , presidents of Egypt ( Gamal Abdel Nasser , Anwar Sadat , Hosni Mubarak ) were ex - military officers for almost 60 years . This was interrupted with the 2011 revolution , when one of those presidents ( Mubarak ) stepped down , and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces ruled until an elected president - - Muhammad Morsi — took office . On 3 July 2013 , General Al - Sisi announced Morsi removal in 2013 Egyptian coup d ' état , although the interim president he named was a civilian — the Chief Justice of Supreme Constitutional Court Adly Mansour . Even the new constitution drafted and passed under Morsi included protections for the military from legal and parliamentary oversight , and deferred to " objections from the country ’ s military leadership " by removing a " clear prohibition on trials of civilians before military courts " some drafters had tried to include . Business . The military which has its own Hospitals , Factories , Clubs and Gas Stations which serve it ' s Officers , Soldiers , and public as well also influential in business , engaging in road and housing construction , consumer goods , resort management , and extensive tracts of real estate . Much military information is not made publicly available , including budget information , the names of the general officers and the military ’ s size ( which is considered a state secret ) . According to journalist Joshua Hammer , " as much as 40 % of the Egyptian economy " is controlled by the Egyptian military . the number which is described as a " myth " by some economists and journalists and contribution considered by some as " necessary " for the Egyptian Economy and the needs of the Armed Forces to maintains its strength . Army . The inventory of the Egyptian armed forces includes equipment from the United States , France , Brazil , the United Kingdom , the Soviet Union , and the People ' s Republic of China . Equipment from the Soviet Union is being progressively replaced by more modern U . S . , French , and British equipment , a significant portion of which is built under license in Egypt , such as the M1A2 Abrams tank which makes Egypt the owner of the second largest number of latest generation main battle tanks in the region after Israel , and the second after Syria in case of the older generations . Conscripts for the army and other service branches without a university degree serve three years as enlisted soldiers . Conscripts with a General Secondary School Degree serve two years as enlisted personnel . Conscripts with a university degree serve one year as enlisted personnel or three years as a reserve officer . Officers for the army are trained at the Egyptian Military Academy one of the oldest academies in the world . Air Force . The Egyptian Air Force or EAF is the aviation branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces . Currently , the backbone of the EAF is the F - 16 . The EAF ( planes and pilot training ) is considered to be the strongest in Africa and one of the strongest in the Middle East . The Mirage 2000 is the other modern interceptor used by the EAF . The Egyptian Air Force has 216 F - 16s ( plus 20 on order ) making it the 4th largest operator of the F - 16 in the World . It has about 579 combat aircraft and 149 armed helicopters having 35 Apache ' s AH - 64D as it also continues to fly extensively upgraded MiG - 21 s , F - 7 Skybolt s , F - 4 Phantom s , Dassault Mirage V s , and the C - 130 Hercules among other planes . The Air Force is undergoing massive modernization . Mikoyan confirmed that talks with Egypt are underway for the sale of 40 Mig - 29 SMT jet - fighters with a possible additional batch of 60 - 80 planes . Air Defense Command . The Egyptian Air Defense Command or ADF ( Quwwat El Diffaa El Gawwi in Arabic ) is Egypt ' s military command responsible for air defense . One of the most powerful air defenses in the world . Egypt patterned its Air Defense Force ( ADF ) after the Soviet Anti - Air Defenses , which integrated all its air defense capabilities – antiaircraft guns , rocket and missile units , interceptor planes , and radar and warning installations . Its commander is Lieutenant General Abdul Meniem Al - Toras . Navy . Although the Egyptian Navy is the smallest branch of the military , it is large by Middle Eastern standards . The Egyptian Navy is known to be the strongest in the African continent , and the largest in the Middle East in spite of the rapid growth of other countries ' navies within the region . Some fleet units are stationed in the Red Sea , but the bulk of the force remains in the Mediterranean . Navy headquarters and the main operational and training base are located at Ras el Tin near Alexandria . The current commander is Vice Admiral Osama El - Gendi . The Navy also controls the Egyptian Coast Guard . The Coast Guard is responsible for the onshore protection of public installations near the coast and the patrol of coastal waters to prevent smuggling . it has an inventory consisting of about thirty five large patrol craft ( each between twenty and thirty meters in length ) and twenty smaller Bertram - class coastal patrol craft built in the United States . " See list of naval ships of Egypt for a list of vessels in service . " Arab Organization for Industrialization . The Arab Organization for Industrialization supervises nine military factories which produce civilian goods as well as military products . Initially the owners of AOI were the governments of Egypt , Saudi Arabia , and the United Arab Emirates , before the latter governments gave their shares back to Egypt in 1993 , valued at $ 1 . 8 billion . AOI is now entirely in Egyptian hands . Government paramilitary agencies . Government paramilitary forces . Two agencies , the Central Security Forces and Border Guard Forces , are under the control of the Ministry of Interior . The Ministry of Defence controls the National Guard , which is mainly for ceremonials and parades , but also for the defence of the Presidential institution and the Capital . Military schools . There is an undergraduate military school for each branch of the Egyptian Military establishment , and they include : Foreign military assistance . The U . S . provides annual military assistance to the Egyptian Armed Forces . In 2009 , the U . S . provided nominal $ 1 . 3 billion to the Egyptian military ( $ billion in ) . Much of this is in equipment such as tanks and jet fighters that are surplus to Egyptian needs and kept in storage .