To strengthen partnerships and military cooperation between friendly countries in the Mediterranean Sea region, Egypt hosted the joint combined exercise Medusa 14 in November 2025.
The three-day exercise involving ground, naval, air and special forces took place on the sea and at Mohamed Naguib Military Base and several air bases in Egypt. Troops came from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Cyprus, France and Greece. Observers came from countries such as Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar and the United States.
Attendees included Gen. Abdel-Magid Saqr, Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian Armed Forces and Minister of Defense and Military Production; Lt. Gen. Ahmed Khalifa, Chief of Staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces; Gen. Demetrios Choupis, Chief of the Hellenic National Defense General Staff; Lt. Gen. Emmanuel Theodorou, Commander of the Cypriot National Guard; and Rear Adm. Mansour bin Saud Al-Juaid, Commander of the Saudi Western Fleet.
Medusa 14 aimed to enhance joint training for maritime threats, deepen interoperability, and familiarize participating troops with multinational, multilingual missions, including naval operations, air combat and joint assaults on hostile shores.
Naval drills — conducted by a multinational flotilla — included visit, board, search and seizures of suspect vessels, search and rescue operations, and naval gunnery.
At the conclusion of Medusa 14, Gen. Saqr underscored the importance of joint exercises for Egypt, among the most prominent of which is Bright Star, last held in September 2025 in coordination with the U.S.
Sources: Egyptian Ministry of Defense, Saudi Press Agency