Egypt's military is preparing for a major exercise meant to test its ground-based offensive capabilities, according to a report by the Middle East Newsline (MENL) on Sunday.
The exercise will take place over the next year and will be led by the Egyptian Third Army, said the report.
The army operates in the Suez area near the Sinai peninsula.
Western defense attaches have seen the biannual Egyptian exercise as a "scenario based on a conflict with Israel to the east," said the MENL report.
Egyptian officials were quoted as saying that the forthcoming exercise would include fixed-wing aircraft and helicopter support for the mock invasion.
The offensive would be led by tanks and mechanized units, they added.
Western defense sources in Cairo told the news service that "Egypt aims to address criticism that the ground forces comprise the weakest element of the military."
Unlike naval and air force personnel, infantry soldiers are regarded as the least trained and educated in the military, according to the report -- Albawaba.com
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