Cyprus’ inclusion in the three US military cooperation programs brings closer the burning issue of replacing the Cyprus National Guard‘s outdated weapons with Western and especially American weapons.

Now the Western markets are open, as the embargo issue, which created multiple problems, even in the purchase of parts that could be used for military purposes, has been overcome. Of course, a complete lifting of the embargo has not been achieved, but the problems are being circumvented by the decrees signed by Joe Biden, and further developments are expected that will essentially upgrade Cyprus to the level of NATO member countries.

But all this does not work automatically. The Cyprus National Guard will have to be reconfigured, almost from the ground up, to achieve interoperability with the armed forces of the US and NATO countries. This process has begun, but it is time-consuming and costly. It requires new equipment and training, together with joint actions with other armed forces. A major advantage is the compatibility that will result between the systems of the Greek and Cypriot armed forces.

Unloading of Russian weaponry

Due to the US embargo, very few countries provided arms to the Cypriot National Guard, with the result that the main market was Russia. In the 1990s, with the “active volcano” policy chosen by the Clerides government, significant purchases were made from Russia. These weapons are still in use by the National Guard despite the fact that they are old and their maintenance has been almost impossible for years due to the sanctions imposed on Russia for the invasion of Ukraine in 2014 and 2022. Gradually, the replacement of this weaponry has begun, but it takes a lot of money and a lot of time to do a full replacement.

In Serbia, the helicopters

The start was made with the replacement of Mi-35 fighter helicopters which were sold to Serbia, which does not apply sanctions against Russia and thus can maintain and keep them in service. Of the 12 that Cyprus had bought, 11 were sold as one had crashed during a training flight in Paphos in July 2006,with the loss of Major Andreas Papasozomnou and the instructor, Russian shah Yuri Oleinik.

The six helicopters have been replaced with six new French Airbus H145Ms, and six more are expected to be purchased.

The new French H145M helicopters, acquired by the National Guard, can perform multiple roles and can fly day and night. These helicopters can have equipment added and removed, depending on their mission, at very short notice. According to the manufacturer, within minutes, the helicopter can be reconfigured to either transport soldiers, or search and rescue, or winch cargo, or transport patients and wounded. It should be noted that the H145M has modern passive defence equipment, and with its armament, it can support friendly forces on the ground with fire, conduct attacks against enemy targets, and conduct intelligence gathering. It has 12 and 20 mm guns, anti-tank missiles and laser-guided rockets with a maximum range of 16 km. It can also cooperate with drones by conducting joint missions.
Depending on the outcome of the consultations with the US in the context of cooperation, Cyprus could also acquire from the surplus equipment other flying assets, mainly for the purposes of search and rescue, coastal surveillance, and combating illegal immigration, smuggling and terrorism. This equipment can also be acquired from the US Coast Guard, since Cyprus, as an island, needs specialized assets to meet its maritime surveillance needs.

The aging tanks

In relation to the main battle tank available to the Cyprus National Guard, which is the Russian-made T-80U, the situation has been problematic for about 10 years since sanctions were imposed on Russia for the illegal annexation of Crimea.

The Cypriot Ministry of Defence admits that “there are great difficulties with the maintenance of the weapon systems we had previously purchased from Russia, due to the sanctions imposed by the EU. With a thousand and two problems we are trying and maintaining the equipment we have”. On the issue of replacing Russian-made T-80U tanks, there had been some discussions with Israel about buying Merkava tanks, but because of the situation in Gaza and the wider region, it is understood that that discussion could not proceed.

Protothema.gr reports that in the past there was a thought of buying German-built Leopard tanks and efforts were being made to secure them through a program of disposing of used German equipment to friendly countries. In the effort it seems that if interest remains, to contribute diplomatic means and the US. However much of the surplus material from western countries has been made available to Ukraine to counter Russian invasion. It is not out of the question that the Cypriot T80Us will be purchased by a third Western country and transferred to Ukraine, after of course there is a replacement by providing equivalent equipment to Cyprus.

Purchase or trade with American tanks is considered to be out of the question at present.

Combat and personnel carriers

Although the problem with the Russian BMP-3s at the maintenance level is not being addressed by the Brazilian Cascavel, these are the first armoured vehicles to be withdrawn from the Cypriot National Guard. According to protothema.gr, they will be sold to Serbia, having completed 40 years of service in Cyprus. Together with them, the also Brazilian Jararaka are expected to be withdrawn.

They are followed by the Russian BMP -3, purchased in 1996, which, apart from being unserviceable, proved problematic in the war in Ukraine, being particularly vulnerable to Western anti-tank weapons.

The Cyprus National Guard would like to acquire from US surpluses the second hand TOMA (Armoured Fighting Vehicles) Bradley M2A2s. These IFV can develop a speed of 65 km and can operate at a range of 480 km which is greater than the range required for operations in Cyprus. This particular combat vehicle can carry 6 soldiers plus three crew members and is equipped with a 25mm M242 gun, two TOW anti-tank launchers and a 7.62mm conjugate machine gun. Its armour is strong enough for anti-tank defence and it has electronic passive safety systems.

Acquiring this type of armored vehicle is also difficult, as other countries have priority.

TOR and BUK

Cyprus in the air defence sector is also equipped with Russian systems. These are short-range TOR-M1 and medium-range BUK M1-2 anti-aircraft missiles. Their replacement, although by no means an easy task, was considered a priority for obvious reasons. These two systems, as has been demonstrated by the joint exercises between the National Guard and the Israeli Air Force, are adequately responsive, but it is far from certain that they could meet Cyprus’ needs in the event that the Turkish F-16s are upgraded in the future.

Installation of the integrated Barak MX anti-aircraft and anti-missile system purchased from Israel has already begun.

This is a modern system and far superior in technology to the existing TOR and BUK.

In the first phase Cyprus will seek to modernise its reserve sector, which numbers around 60,000 men. The reserves’ equipment, which they keep in their homes to reduce response time in case of recruitment, is outdated and Nicosia will seek individual rifles, helmets, bulletproof vests and night-vision goggles.