CAIRO, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian and French naval forces concluded Saturday their joint maritime drills in the Red Sea, the Egyptian military spokesman said in a statement.
The exercise, which started on March 13, included conducting maritime reconnaissance of targets and making several naval formations to ensure accuracy of taking precise positions and efficiency of dealing with hostile targets, said military spokesman Tamer al-Refaay.
He added that the two French-made Mistral warships, which Egypt received from France in June and September 2016 as per a purchase deal, took part in the drill.
Military ties between Cairo and Paris witnessed have development over the past few years.
Egypt has so far received 11 French-made Rafale fighter jets out of total 24 stated in a 2015 contract worth more than 6 billion U.S. dollars.
