Commander of the Sudanese Air Force Essam Al-Din Saeed called for further cooperation between the air forces of Egypt and Sudan to protect the mutual interests of both countries, as a joint air exercise continued between Cairo and Khartoum in a Sudanese air base. 

According to the Egyptian Army spokesman Tamer El-Refaie, Saeed has inspected the forces involved in the Egyptian-Sudanese training, dubbed ‘Nile Eagles – 1’ and hailed the harmony showed by the forces of both countries.

The joint training, which runs until 26 November, is being conducted between the two neighbouring countries for the first time. It takes place in Sudan’s Marwa air base and involves the Egyptian special forces ‘Thunderbolt’.

“The exercise seeks to achieve the maximum possible benefit for the participating personnel … to manage air operations,” El-Refae said.

The exercise also seeks to “measure the degree of preparedness of the forces to conduct joint operations on targets, through following the most appropriate tactics, to accomplish missions under different circumstances,” he added.

The first stages of the joint exercise began with theoretical and practical lectures that aimed to unify the required concepts and enhance personnel’s skills to manage joint air operations with high competence, the spokesman added.

Also, many joint defensive and offensive sorties have been conducted to attack hostile targets and protect other vital targets, with the participation of the multi-tasking fighter jets.

The training with Sudan comes under a series of joint trainings between the Egyptian armed forces and their counterparts.