Contra Omnes
Today I overheard some talking heads questioning whether the Egyptian military is strong enough to influence local politics.
There was a strong implication that they meant ‘influence’ in the way a playground supervisor might ‘influence’ unruly children. That aside, they raised a question. I thought I’d try to answer it.
Based upon some quick calculations, the Egyptian military currently operates:
AIR FORCE: 888 fighter planes (inc. 240 F-16s); 169 attack helicopters (inc. 57 Apaches); 102 UAVs
ROCKET FORCES: 120 theater-range ballistic missile launchers (SCUD variants); 108 battlefield-range missile launchers; ~200,000 RPGs; ~4000 shoulder-mounted anti-aircraft missiles (inc. 1800 Stingers); 1601 multiple rocket launchers (mostly Katyusha equivalents); 120 mobile SAM units (inc. 100 M1097 Avengers); hundreds of automatic grenade launchers (inc. the Mk 19)
NAVY: 23 guided missile frigates (inc. 4 Perry class); 4 submarines; 2 corvettes; 1 destroyer
ARMOR: 3980 tanks (inc. 1130 M1-A1 Abrams); 965 tracked howitzers (inc. 621 Paladins, 144 M110s); 750 towed howitzers; ~1400 pieces field artillery; 342 tank destroyers (all TOW capable); 780 mounted mortars; 3885 infantry support vehicles; 5230 armored personnel carriers; >600 minelayers; ~3000 AA guns;
ARMY: ~6000 mortars; ~8000 recoiless anti-tank rifles; and enough small arms to comfortably outfit their 858,000-man standing army
Whereas, on the civilian side, we have:
THE EGYPTIAN PEOPLE: Twitter.
…I think that answers their question.
