Republican Guard (Arab Union)

The Republican Guard also functions as a counterbalance against other strong formations based around the capital, such as the 10th Armoured Division and 11th Mechanized Division. Republican Guard officers are responsible for escorting the president's motorcade, and also operate his private helicopter, a Sikorsky S-76. The division has access to several armoured personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles, as well as sixteen Mi-17 and ten Mi-24 helicopters, which provide for rapid insertion and airpower capabilities.

Republican Guard soldiers can be recognised by their purple berets. Most of them carry domestically produced F-6 assault rifles and a variety of domestic and imported sidearms. The division is approximately 130,000 strong. It is headquartered at the Ain Shams Armoury in northeast Cairo, the official headquarters of the Arab Army and its High Command, and also maintains a major installation adjacent to the north side of the Presidential Palace. The Republican Guard has taken the lead in many important battles in the Egyptian, Syrian and Iraqi theatres of the 2011–present civil war known as the Arab Winter, and is therefore one of the most battle-tested divisions of the Arab Army. As of January 2020, the Republican Guard maintains major posts in Aleppo, suburban Damascus, Idlib, Mosul, Sana’a, Riyadh, and Cairo, each mission supported by local deployments of the Arab Army's 1st and 2nd Corps.