CAIRO, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- A number of U.S. troops and equipment arrived at an Egyptian air base ahead of a joint military exercises slated for Sept. 8-20, the Egyptian military spokesman said on Thursday.
The drills, under the name "Bright Star 2018," will take place at Mohamed Naguib Base, west of Alexandria, in addition to maritime exercises in the Mediterranean Sea, Egyptian military spokesman Tamer al-Refaay in a statement.
Land, naval and air forces from Egypt, the United States, Greece, Jordan, Britain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Italy and France will take part in the drills.
The drills are meant to exchange expertise among participating forces, hone their skills, develop operations and training mechanisms in combating terrorism, in addition to joint planning and management of military operations and training to deal with maritime security threats.
Egypt receives annually about 1.5 billion U.S. dollars in U.S. military and economic aid since it signed the 1979 U.S.-sponsored peace treaty with Israel.
