An undated photo of Egyptian patrol craft.
Eight Egyptian sailors are missing after a Wednesday clash with four vessels that could have been supplying arms to Islamist terror groups in the Sinai Peninsula. Read More
USNI News polled its writers, naval analysts, and service members on what they consider the most important military and maritime stories in 2013. Read More
An undated photo of the ENS S. Ezzat, an Egyptian Fast Missile Craft. VT Halter Marine Photo
Despite the ongoing leadership strife in Egypt, the U.S. has moved ahead with the delivery of four fast missile craft (FMC), Pentagon officials told USNI News on Wednesday. Read More
An undated photo of the ENS S. Ezzat, an Egyptian Fast Missile Craft. VT Halter Marine Photo
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry issued a Thursday statement implying it would look to countries other than the U.S. for military hardware. Read More
Image captured from a Sept. 4 video alleged to show memebers of the group Al-Furqan firing a rocket propelled grenade at a merchant ship in the Suez Canal
An Islamist terror group has taken responsibility for a Saturday rocket propelled grenade (RPG) attack on a merchant ship transiting the Suez Canal, USNI News has learned.
A video posted on YouTube Wednesday — alleged to have been issued by the group Al-Furqan along with a letter of responsibility — show two men with rocket propelled grenades fire at least one RPG round into the side of a cargo ship bearing the markings of the Chinese merchant shipper Cosco. Read More
From the Aug. 19, 2013 Congressional Research Service Report:
This report provides a brief overview of the key issues for Congress related to Egypt. U.S. policy makers are now grappling with complex questions about the future of U.S.-Egypt relations, particularly in light of the growing unrest and violence currently unfolding. These debates are shaping consideration of appropriations and authorization legislation and congressional oversight options in the 113th Congress. Read More
If Egypt’s Suez Canal is closed to commerce, an Arctic trade route to move goods between the Pacific to the Atlantic could become a popular option, according to a Wednesday report from the international shipping magazine Fairplay. Read More
An Egyptian M1A1 Abrams tank in 2011. A suspension in military aid to Egypt could halt expansion of the inventory from 1,000 to 1,500.
Almost half a billion dollars in 2013 military aid to Egypt has been quietly suspended pending the outcome of the current unrest in the country, staff with Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the chairman of the appropriations subcommittee responsible for foreign aid, told The Daily Beast news service on Monday. Read More
Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Jonathan Greenert and Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. James Amos speak at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) as part of their national defense speakers series on July 11, 2013. US Navy Photo
The commandant of the Marine Corps and the chief of naval operations made the case for forward presence in an era of declining defense spending at a Washington to a national security forum think tank last week as events in Egypt threaten to spiral out of control.
Adm. Jonathan Greenert explained how the Navy and the Marine Corps can react quickly to situations citing the movement of USS Kearsarge (LHD-3) and USS San Antonio (LPD-17) into the Red Sea following the Egyptian military’s removal of President Mohamed Morsi from office as an immediate example of forward presence’s value and tailored forces. The ships were sent closer to the conflict, “because we don’t know what’s going to happen” in Egypt. “We can’t garrison and respond. It will be too late,” to handle a possible evacuation of Americans from the country, Greenert said. Read More
USS Kearsarge (LHD-3), left, leads the amphibious dock landing ship USS Carter Hall (LSD-50) and the amphibious transport dock ship USS San Antonio (LPD-17) on June 16, 2013. US Navy Photo
Marines on two amphibious warships in the Red Sea have not been given tasking to respond to the growing unrest in Egypt, Navy and Marine Corps officials told USNI News on Friday.
“There hasn’t been an official tasking,” Marine Capt. Eric Flanagan at the Pentagon told USNI News.
“They’re not getting ready to go into Egypt.” Read More
