After the sensational "Arab Spring", the geopolitical situation in the Mediterranean region has become much more complicated. Until now, forecasts for the future of North Africa and the Middle East continue to appear, and so far no one can speak with confidence about the events of tomorrow. Among the various opinions, one sometimes hears assumptions about an impending war between the states of the region, which recently changed power, and other countries. In view of the instability of the general position of the Mediterranean, this version cannot be rejected, nor can we speak of its correctness. Due to the mutual geographical position of the countries of the region, it can be assumed that in a hypothetical conflict, naval forces will play an important role, which will have to provide fire cover for troops when attacking important coastal objects, etc. Consider the state of the navies of North African countries with access to the Mediterranean Sea.
Algeria
The riots and uprisings of past years passed by Algeria, which is why it has the opportunity to develop its armed forces without wasting time on suppressing unrest. If the situation in the country remains calm, then over the next few years, the Algerian Navy will significantly increase its combat potential. So, at present, German and Chinese shipyards are building two frigates of the MEKO A200 and C28A projects, respectively. These ships will be equipped with artillery, missile and torpedo weapons, thanks to which they will be able to carry out a wide range of tasks typical of the Algerian navy. Also, in the coming years, this country will receive one Italian universal amphibious assault ship of the San Giorgio class. Over the past years, the possibility of ordering by Algeria two corvettes of the project 20382 "Tiger" of Russian production has been repeatedly mentioned, but the contract for their supply has not yet been signed, from which appropriate conclusions can be drawn.
Small missile ships of project 1234 (code "Gadfly", according to NATO classification - Nanuchka class corvette)
The conclusions about the upcoming increase in the capabilities of the Algerian navy have obvious grounds in the form of fairly old equipment that is currently in operation. The newest of the Algerian navy's surface vessels is the Djebel Chenoua class patrol boats, the third and last of which was commissioned about ten years ago. Nine other boats of the Kebir project were built at the Algerian shipyards until 1993. The construction of larger ships for the Algerian industry is still a daunting task, which is why the country is forced to order similar equipment abroad. Back in the early eighties, Soviet shipbuilding delivered to Algeria three small missile ships of project 1234 and the same number of patrol boats of project 1159. All these ships are still in service and, apparently, will serve at least until the end of the decade, until the Navy get enough new technology. The list of surface warships of the Algerian Navy is closed by three landing ships of British and Polish production.
Classe djebel chenoua
Algeria began a large-scale upgrade of its navy with a submarine fleet. So, back in 2010, the Admiralteyskie Verfi plant (St. Petersburg) handed over to the customer two diesel-electric submarines of the 636M project. Two more submarines of this type may be ordered shortly. In the second half of the eighties, Algeria acquired from the Soviet Union two diesel-electric submarines of the previous project 877. They are still in the ranks and carry out the tasks assigned to them.
Submarines of project 877 "Halibut"
Since 2011, the Algerian Navy has served several search and rescue helicopters. These are AgustaWestland AW101 (six units) and four AgustaWestland Super Lynx Mk. 130. Last year, Algeria ordered an additional six Mk.130 helicopters.
An interesting fact is that no more than 7000-7500 people serve in the naval forces of Algeria, which is just over one percent of the total number of military personnel in the country. Such a small number of personnel is due to two reasons: the small size of the navy itself and the specifics of the distribution of subunits between the branches of the armed forces.
Egypt
Despite the events of recent years, the Egyptian naval forces continue to be one of the most powerful fleets in the region. At the same time, the Egyptian Navy also has disadvantages. Thus, the entire submarine fleet of Egypt consists of only four Soviet-made Project 633 submarines. Given the age of these diesel-electric submarines, it is not difficult to determine their combat potential. In the future, the Soviet diesel-electric submarines should be replaced by new submarines of the Type 209 project, created in Germany. Currently, Cairo is negotiating this topic and is still far from signing a contract.
Submarines type 209
Due to the change of power and subsequent political, social and economic problems, Egypt was forced to significantly reduce its plans for the renewal of its naval forces. In the last years of H. Mubarak's rule, several contracts were signed, according to which Egypt was to receive six missile boats and one floating base, previously operated by Norway. In addition, Egypt has ordered four Ambassador Mk III missile boats from the United States. Due to the economic situation, all contracts except the last one were canceled. The lead boat of the series is already undergoing tests and will soon be commissioned. The order will obviously be completed in full.
Patrol boats Ambassador Mk III
The core of the Egyptian surface fleet consists of eight frigates of three different types. Over the past decades, Egypt has acquired two used Knox-class ships and four Oliver Hazard Perry ships from the United States. In addition, China has supplied two Type 053 frigates. All these frigates have missile, torpedo and artillery weapons and can operate at a great distance from bases. The two Descubierta corvettes bought from Spain are armed in a similar way, but they differ in size, displacement and, as a result, in a number of tactical and technical characteristics. Also, the Egyptian Navy has a relatively large number of landing ships. These are three medium-sized ships of project 770 of Polish production and nine small ships of project 106, purchased from the Soviet Union. The Egyptian Navy also has ten Soviet and American minesweepers and five training ships of various classes.
Knox-class frigates
URO frigates like Oliver Hazard Perry
Remembering the experience of the conflicts of past years, Egypt maintains the so-called. mosquito fleet. Missile, torpedo and artillery boats are the most numerous types of equipment in the Egyptian naval forces. Egyptian sailors still use nine Soviet-made Project 205 missile boats (four were bought directly from the USSR, the rest were re-exported by Montenegro), five Type 148 Tiger boats purchased from Germany and six Ramadan-type boats of their own construction. Also in service is a number of Soviet boats of the 183P project and the Chinese "Type 024". Egyptian missile boats use various types of guided anti-ship weapons, but most of the missiles can be considered obsolete. The same can be said about a certain number (no more than six) of Project 206 torpedo boats, purchased at one time from the Soviet Union. The prospects for four Type 062 artillery boats made in China look no less dubious. Armed with only small-caliber artillery and an 81-mm recoilless gun, such boats can effectively resist only light, unarmed and unprotected watercraft and are therefore suitable only for patrol service and suppression of maritime border violations.
Kaman SH-2G Super Seasprite
The Egyptian naval forces do not have their own aviation, since all the relevant equipment is listed in the Air Force. For reconnaissance and target acquisition in the interests of the Air Force fleet, eight Grumman E-2C Hawkeye aircraft and six Beechcraft 1900C aircraft in a special configuration are used. Anti-submarine work is assigned to ten Kaman SH-2G Super Seasprite helicopters and five Westland Sea King. Nine Aérospatiale Gazelles are used for coastal reconnaissance. Also, if necessary, the Air Force assigns other types of equipment to the naval forces.
There is no exact data on the personnel of the Egyptian Navy. According to various estimates, currently no more than 20-22 thousand people serve on warships, auxiliary ships and coastal bases.
Libya
One of the largest countries in the Mediterranean region, Libya, is now not even thinking about upgrading its naval forces. The new government, which took the place of M. Gaddafi's administration, already has enough problems, because of which the construction or purchase of new ships, boats or ships will begin only in the future, if, of course, it starts at all. Nevertheless, updating the Navy is one of the most important tasks for the new Libyan leadership. The fact is that as a result of international intervention, Libya lost a large number of naval equipment: the navy lost one frigate and several missile boats of different types.
MRK project 1234E of the Libyan Navy
After the civil war and intervention, the Libyan naval forces look like this. The large surface fleet is represented by only one Project 1159 patrol ship. The second ship of this type was destroyed on May 20, 2011 in the Tripoli bay. On the same day, NATO aircraft sank a large Project 1234 missile boat. The second missile boat went to the rebels and currently continues to serve in the Navy. Also during the war, all four Project 205 missile boats and seven Combattante boats purchased from Greece were destroyed. Of the nine operated mine-sweepers of the Soviet-made project 266ME, only two were able to survive the war. The only Libyan diesel-electric submarine of Project 641 has not been used for a long time and will soon be disposed of.
Before the start of the civil war, the Libyan Navy had 24 helicopters of several types, including 12 anti-submarine helicopters. During the conflict, almost all of this equipment was destroyed at the airfields. The current state of the naval aviation remains unknown.
Due to the civil war, the number of personnel of the Libyan Navy has declined significantly. Currently, according to various sources, only three thousand people are serving on the remaining ships and bases. Such figures clearly speak of the prospects for this type of troops.
Morocco
Compared to other naval forces in the North African region, the Moroccan navy looks very good. This country has the opportunity not only to update its naval forces, in a timely manner restoring the potential of this type of troops, but also to improve them. For this, new ships and boats are constantly being purchased, which are superior in their characteristics to the existing ones. Morocco is currently modernizing its missile boats and is also awaiting several of its orders.
FREMM class frigates
In recent years, official Rabat has ordered the construction of several ships of various types abroad. So, by the end of the year it is planned to accept a frigate, built according to the French FREMM project, into the Navy. It is worth noting that the FREMM in the Moroccan version is designed to carry out anti-submarine missions and therefore will not carry anti-ship missiles. However, even in this case, the new ship will have a beneficial effect on the state of the entire fleet. Also, in the coming years, France should transfer four OPV-70 patrol boats to Morocco, the first of which has already been entered into the fleet. Finally, the Moroccan leadership is currently planning to buy a number of diesel-electric submarines. The Russian-Italian project S1000 may also be among the participants in the future tender.
The update of the Moroccan Navy began several years ago, so new ships are already taking service. In 2011 and 2012, the Netherlands handed over three SIGMA-class corvettes to the Moroccans. These ships are armed with artillery mounts, torpedoes, and anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles. The acquisition of such corvettes is considered an important milestone in the development of the Moroccan Navy. At the beginning of the 2000s, two Floréal-class frigates built in France began to serve in the Moroccan fleet. They have only artillery and anti-ship missile weapons, and can also carry one anti-submarine helicopter. The service life of the Spanish-made Descubierta-type corvette is coming to an end: with the commissioning of the Mohammed IV (FREMM type) ship, it will be removed from the fleet and written off.
SIGMA type corvettes
It is worth noting the rather numerous, albeit outdated, fleet of patrol boats. Prior to the commissioning of the lead boat OPV-70, the Moroccan Navy had two dozen such vessels. It is worth noting that back in the late seventies, Rabat began to look for opportunities to buy new patrol boats, as a result of which, until the mid-nineties, new equipment regularly replenished the Navy. The interruption in supplies began only in 1997 and has now ended. An interesting fact is that the leadership of the Moroccan fleet did not “lock in” on the boats of one country. So, boats of five projects (not counting the OPV-70) were built at the shipyards of Denmark, Spain and France.
Patrol boats OPV-70
The task of patrolling the coastal zone is assigned to several dozen light boats of various types, purchased abroad and produced independently. In case of landing on the enemy's coast, the Moroccan Navy has three BATRAL landing ships, purchased from France in the late seventies. To perform auxiliary tasks, the fleet uses four ships of different types and several dozen light boats.
Landing ships BATRAL
Morocco's naval aviation is sparse. It includes only 3-4 Eurocopter AS565 helicopters and a dozen Britten-Norman Defender patrol aircraft. It is noteworthy that these aircraft formally serve in the air force, but are used exclusively in the interests of the naval forces.
Currently, more than 40 thousand people serve in the Moroccan Navy, of which one and a half thousand are registered in the Marine Corps. This significantly exceeds the number of personnel of the naval forces of some other states of North Africa, but at the same time it is not a record.
Tunisia
Of all African countries with access to the Mediterranean, Tunisia is one of the weakest militarily and economically. The Tunisian naval forces cannot boast of great combat power, but even in such a situation, the fleet commanders manage to knock out funding for the upgrade of equipment. In the last days of 2012, Italy handed over the first two P350 patrol boats to Tunisia and four more will be built shortly.
However, the overall health of the Tunisian Navy is depressing. A few years ago, all relatively large ships were decommissioned, namely the French-made corvette of the Le-Fougeux type and the former American frigate USS Savage. In this regard, several types of missile boats have become the largest ships in the Tunisian Navy. These are six Type-143 Albatros boats purchased from Germany, as well as three French-made Combattante-III-M and P-48 Bizerte boats. In service there are no more than five Chinese artillery boats Shanghai-II, six minesweepers of the Kondor-II type previously used in Germany, and one landing craft LCT-3, built in the United States.
"Type-143" Albatros
Patrolling coastal waters and other similar tasks are assigned to several dozen patrol boats of several types. It is worth noting that with such a variety of the fleet of equipment, Tunisia, unlike Morocco, acquired all the boats abroad. As part of its naval forces, there is not a single ship or boat built at its enterprises.
The Tunisian Navy does not have its own aircraft. The air force can provide support to sailors and marines if needed. To help the fleet, two Sikorsky HH-3 helicopters, a dozen Sikorsky S-61 helicopters and one SNIAS AS-365N are used. According to some sources, all of these vehicles can participate in both search and rescue and anti-submarine missions.
Sikorsky S-61
Despite the frankly poor equipment, about 40-45 thousand people serve in the Tunisian Navy, which exceeds the number of personnel of the naval forces of other countries in the region. For obvious reasons, most of these people serve ashore and do not go to sea.
The balance of forces
The navies of the North African countries, located on the Mediterranean coast, are typical military fleets of small and poor countries. Of the five states considered, only Algeria and Morocco are actively developing their navies and increasing their combat potential. The rest of the countries, primarily Tunisia and Libya, cannot afford such a thing and therefore have to use only what they have and make plans for the future.
Due to their weakness, all the described naval forces cannot perform combat missions at a great distance from bases. For this reason, the main task of the navies of Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia is still patrolling the coastal zone, searching for and arresting violators. In addition, at the beginning of an armed conflict, the naval forces are likely to take the first blow of the enemy. In this case, the prospects for all the considered IUDs, with some reservations, look the same. Thus, a full-scale encounter with a fleet of equal strength would be unpredictable. None of these countries have naval forces capable of guaranteed defeat of the enemy. As for the intervention in the conflict by a third force, for example, any European country or the armed forces of NATO, then the result will be sad for the African state.
Nevertheless, the five countries considered continue to update and develop their naval forces to the extent of their strength and capabilities. As already mentioned, the situation in the region has ceased to be stable and this serves as an additional incentive for improving the armed forces in general and the navy in particular.
