Egypt Goes To Sea

I don't think Egypt has been considered a naval power in the world since the days of Antony and Cleopatra. But the news coming out of Alexandria is that Egypt is once again harboring regional ambitions and is expanding it's naval fleet as part of that effort.

Now to a point, I think that this is getting a little overblown. They've added eleven (11) new battle units and what they have on order seems to consist of fast attack craft and Harpoon missiles. In other words, their great naval expansion is the creation of eleven new missile boat units.

That's certainly nothing to sneeze at. Look no further than the USS Stark to see what a missile can do to a modern warship. But, but the same token, this is not the same as the Egyptians suddenly figuring out how to build Arleigh Burke or Ticonderoga type ships.

They're setting up a navy designed to fight a guerilla war on water. It sounds like it's being designed as a raider navy - one that pops up out of nowhere, hits you with a small punch, and leaves before you can react. Against an Israeli Navy of similar composition, this could certainly be viewed as a significant threat. But against a true blue water navy designed for power projection, like the US Navy or the Royal Navy, this is more like an irritant than a threat.

But it is something that bears watching. Today it's fast attack craft. What will it be tomorrow?