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The multinational joint exercise MEDUSA-15 concluded on 18 September 2026 following nine days of training involving Greece, Egypt, Cyprus, France and Italy. Conducted from 10 September in the wider area of Crete and the Aegean Sea, the exercise aimed to strengthen cooperation and interoperability between the participating armed forces. Observers from the United Arab Emirates, Serbia, Mozambique and Bahrain also attended.
Egypt’s Ministry of Defence reported that naval, air, air defence, reconnaissance and special forces participated, including paratroopers and commandos. Preparations began with Egyptian and Greek naval forces conducting joint maritime training during the outward voyage, followed by theoretical and practical sessions designed to standardise operational concepts and facilitate the exchange of expertise.
The final phase brought together air, maritime and amphibious capabilities in a coordinated sequence of activities. Egypt’s account described an opening presentation aboard the helicopter carrier Gamal Abdel Nasser, which reviewed the training already conducted. Multirole aircraft subsequently carried out offensive and defensive sorties against simulated hostile targets, supported by Joint Terminal Attack Controllers directing precision air strikes.
Paratroopers conducted drops to secure a beachhead, while military free-fall personnel performed jumps carrying national flags. Other activities included boarding and inspecting a suspicious vessel and special forces raids against coastal
targets. These scenarios combined specialist personnel with naval and aviation support, demonstrating the participating contingents’ ability to conduct different elements of a joint operation. An amphibious operation followed, using landing craft carried aboard the Egyptian helicopter carrier to transport special forces from participating countries towards key objectives. Attack helicopters provided supporting fire to secure the approach of the landing craft. Special forces also conducted a vertical assault, while sailing formations and an aerial display brought the activities to a close. France’s Ministry of the Armed Forces added that MEDUSA-15 included counter-drone training, rescue at sea, task-force manoeuvres, aerial activities, shore bombardment and above-water warfare exercises. Its operational update described the concluding amphibious assault as having been launched from an Egyptian Mistral-class helicopter carrier. The French account highlighted the exercise’s development from a bilateral Egyptian-Greek activity into a broader multinational format.
The Hellenic National Defence General Staff reported that the Distinguished Visitors Day took place at Maleme, Crete. Demonstrations included free-fall infiltration, fast-rope helicopter insertion and combined amphibious and airborne operations supported by fighter aircraft and attack helicopters. Unmanned systems also featured, including first-person-view drones and Greece’s KENTAVROS counter-UAS system, within scenarios addressing multiple simultaneous threats. Senior military leaders watched the demonstrations aboard the Greek frigate Psara. They included General Dimitrios Choupis, Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff; Egypt’s Lieutenant General Ahmed Fathy Ibrahim Khalifa; and Lieutenant General Emmanouil Theodorou, Chief of Cyprus’s National Guard. France was represented by Rear Admiral Mackara Ouk, Deputy Commander-in-Chief in the Mediterranean, alongside other senior officers and diplomatic representatives.
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