by WorldTribune Staff, August 10, 2017
Egypt’s effort to modernize its military took another step forward this week with the arrival of the second of four submarines ordered from Germany.
Egypt’s navy said the new Type-209/1400 submarine, manufactured by the German company of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, is able to sail in a range of 11,000 nautical miles and at a top speed of 21.5 knots. It has torpedoes and missiles and is equipped with the latest navigation and communication systems.
“Such submarines are of great importance when it comes to maneuvering in the Mediterranean and the Red Sea to protect vital marine interests, including newly discovered oil and gas fields, and to secure routes leading to the Suez Canal,” Khalid Okasha, a Cairo-based security analyst, told Arab News.
Egypt received the first of the four submarines in December.
Cairo should have started receiving the submarines in 2012, “but Berlin preferred to wait as the Muslim Brotherhood was in power at the time, and Israel repeatedly contacted Germany in protest over the deal,” political analyst Sameh Rashed told Arab News.
Commander of the Egyptian Navy Ahmed Khaled Saeed said that Cairo is in the process of constructing five new naval bases.
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