CAIRO — A mixed naval exercise called “Red Wave 5” kicked off on May 29 off the Saudi Red Sea coast of Jeddah. Countries bordering the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden including Jordan, Egypt, Sudan, Djibouti and Yemen as well as observers from Somalia took part in the drill under the command of the Saudi Western Fleet and with the participation of the Saudi land, naval and air forces. A previous edition of the drills under the same name took place in Saudi waters in January 2019, with the participation of the same five countries.

Commander of the Western Fleet Yahya bin Mohammed Al-Asiri was quoted by the Saudi Press Agency as saying that the exercise aims to strengthen military cooperation in the Red Sea between countries bordering the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, to unify naval operations, exchange combat experience and increase combat readiness, with the aim of achieving maritime security and freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, one of the most important international economic corridors. 

The drills, which ended June 4, included several combat missions and exercises involving Apache helicopters.

Gen. Samir Farag, the former director of the Egyptian army's Department of Morale Affairs, told Al-Monitor that the recent naval exercises gave the Red Sea countries a chance to practice cooperation in light of the threat posed by Yemen’s Houthis in the Bab al-Mandab Strait.