Exercise BRIGHT STAR 2023 (August 31 – September 14) is a multilateral military exercise led by the Arab Republic of Egypt’s Army and United States Central Command (CENTCOM). It is the biggest, longest running and most significant military exercise in the Middle East that covers multiple scenarios of conventional and irregular warfare. Bright Star joint exercise has been a foundational event in building and enhancing collaboration between Egypt, the United States, and regional allies on key multinational security challenges.

Initially a bilateral training exercise between the U.S. and Egypt conceived during the Camp David Accords of 1977, the first Exercise was conducted in 1980 in Egypt and has rapidly expanded to include other partner nations. BRIGHT STAR 23 includes the participation of 34 countries, bringing more than 8,000 troops to the Mohammed Naguib Military Base in Egypt. This year’s exercise builds on the success of BRIGHT STAR 21 which brought 21 countries to Egypt.

BRIGHT STAR strengthens military-to-military relationships between Egyptian, U.S., and participating nations’ armed forces by enabling allied militaries to work together on responding to modern-day security scenarios and emerging and unconventional threats, involving various operations including air, ground, naval, and special operations dealing with counter-insurgency drills, counter-terrorism operations, and cybersecurity exercises, providing a unique opportunity to increase interoperability levels between Egypt and U.S. militaries, as well as other participant countries.

Read the BRIGHT STAR 23 Factsheet to learn more, here.