A detachment of ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet and the Egyptian Navy began a three-day naval phase of the joint Bridge of Friendship 2021 maneuvers in the Mediterranean Sea.

The objectives of the Bridge of Friendship 2021 exercise, which will be held from December 3-10, are to strengthen and develop military cooperation between the Russian Navy and the Egyptian Navy to better protect the region.

The Russian news agency TASS said that the Russian Navy’s task force comprises the frigate Admiral Grigorovich with a deck-based helicopter, the patrol ship Dmitry Rogachyov and the rescue tug SB-742.

The Russian delegation headed by Commander of the Black Sea Fleet’s Novorossiysk Naval Base Rear Admiral Viktor Kochemazov has already arrived in Alexandria to wrap up the preparatory stage of the drills, it added.

In the course of the exercise, the Russian and Egyptian combat ships will operate under the command of the joint headquarters of the drills under a single plan and accomplish the tasks of thwarting attacks by naval targets, inspecting suspicious ships, providing air defense and replenishing supplies at sea from a helicopter, Tass said.

Egypt and Russia have been stepping up military cooperation in recent years.

In 2015, Russia and Egypt held Bridge of Friendship 2015 for the first time, off the coast of Alexandria, including supply and communication exercises, search operations, and defense and live-firing exercises.