Egypt's armed forces, the largest in the Arab world, are battle-hardened from successive wars with Israel and from participation in Operation Desert Storm to liberate Kuwait in 1991. Over 500,000 reservists augment the regular troops.
After the 1978 Camp David accords with Israel, Egypt stopped buying Soviet weapons and aircraft in favor of Western suppliers. Cooperation with the USA has reaped dividends in the form of more sophisticated defense equipment and improved training. Egypt has a small-arms industry and sells light weapons, notably a version of the AK-47 assault rifle, to other developing countries.
