Egyptian Air Defense Command

The Egyptian Air Defense Command or EADC (Arabic: قوات الدفاع الجوي‎, Quwwat Al-Difa' Al-Jawwi), is Egypt's military command responsible for air defense, part of the Military of Egypt. Egypt patterned its Air Defense Force (ADF) after the Soviet Air Defence Forces, which integrated all its air defense capabilities – antiaircraft guns, rocket and missile units, interceptor planes, and radar and warning installations.

Since 2005 the EADC is commanded by is Lt. General Abd El Aziz Seif-Eldeen.[1] It consists of 30,000 officers & soldiers plus 40,000 conscripts.

Contents

History

After most of the country's aircraft was destroyed on ground by Israel during the Six-Day War in 1967, the military placed responsibility for air defense under one commander, the results of which proved positive by the air defense's performance in the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

Weaponry

It is undergoing extensive modernization with bugdetary constraints being the only hindrance to what was once dubbed by Israeli air force generals during the 1973 Ramadan (Yom Kippur) war as "the most extensive and sophisticated air-defense system in the world after the one defending the U.S.S.R...". Currently, it is believed to possess the following weaponry:

Modern low, medium and high altitude SAMs of American, French, Russian design or local license built, including:

Regional Air Defense Missile Systems

Regional/Strategic Perimeter level SAM

Army Corps/Division level SAM

Field Point Defense Surface to Air Systems

Army Corps and Division level SAM

Brigade and Battalion level SAM

By the end of 2008, all missile, radar, command and control systems are to be linked into a complex multi-level, national computerized early-waring air defense command via modified EC-130H Hercules (modified to AWACS-like specifications) transport aircraft, EW AWACS "Grumman" E-2C Hawkeye 2000, EW ECM Beechcraft 1900 ELINT, reconnaissance UAV and underground sheltered-reinforced fiber-optic network.

Air Force and Defence commanders

Notes

  1. ^ Egyptian government. "Lt. Gen. Abd El Aziz Seif-Eldeen". http://www.mmc.gov.eg/branches/airdef/adcommand.htm. Retrieved February 12,2011. 
  2. ^ http://www.mmc.gov.eg/branches/AIRFORCE/gg13.htm
  3. ^ The Air Force

External links