A Cyprus defence ministry and National Guard delegation is travelling to the United States for talks on acquiring military equipment as part of bilateral defence cooperation between the two countries.
The delegation will attend meetings in the US between 26 and 29 October carrying a list of specific weapons systems that interest the Republic of Cyprus.
President Nikos Christodoulides emphasised continuous National Guard modernisation as a priority during yesterday’s swearing-in ceremony for new National Guard chief, Lieutenant General Emmanouel Theodorou.
Weapons systems Cyprus wants to acquire
Cyprus participates in three programmes offering the possibility of acquiring weapons systems from the US: Foreign Military Sales (FMS), Excess Defense Articles (EDA) and Title 10 Security Assistance.
Nicosia initially targets systems that can be acquired either free or at very low cost. Cooperation under the EDA programme has reached its second stage—implementation of acquiring systems for which the Republic of Cyprus has expressed interest.
The main weapons systems that interest Cyprus are:
Helicopters used or formerly used by the US Coast Guard, with the potential to be deployed for search-and-rescue purposes and firefighting.
Coast guard patrol boats, with the US having shown willingness to help Cyprus acquire them.
Vehicles and small arms, which can be acquired directly from US stocks, including vehicles such as Humvees and American rifles such as the Colt M5 Carbine.
Depending on which category the two sides agree upon, specialists from Cyprus will travel to the US.
The Republic of Cyprus’s defence strengthening will proceed in parallel both with the US and within the framework of the United States’ SAFE programme.
Air base study in preparation
Cyprus’s strategy for defence and security focuses on gradual and targeted upgrading of select National Guard units, with parallel upgrading of the two bases in Paphos (air force) and Mari (naval).
Regarding the Paphos airbase, sources indicate that American specialists, in cooperation with their Cypriot counterparts, have begun the upgrade study.
The study will be completed within three to six months. Work on upgrading the air base is expected to begin in late 2026 or early 2027.
Continuous National Guard upgrading
President Nikos Christodoulides, speaking at the swearing-in ceremony for the new National Guard chief, referred to the continuous upgrading of the National Guard.
Specifically, the president said that “in a country under occupation by foreign troops, the change of leadership in the National Guard is an act of paramount importance”.
According to President Christodoulides, “The continuous upgrading of the National Guard and strengthening our homeland’s deterrent power is a top priority for our government through specific actions such as utilising the EU’s SAFE financial instrument, which provides €1.2 billion for the Republic of Cyprus; procuring equipment from the US through the Excess Defense Articles (EDA) and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programmes; utilising the very promising Cypriot defence industry; and upgrading critical infrastructure such as the Andreas Papandreou air base and the Evangelos Florakis naval base”.
Change of leadership
Lieutenant General Emmanouel Theodorou officially became the new chief of the National Guard yesterday, replacing Lieutenant General Georgios Tsitsikostas.
The new National Guard chief pledged he is ready to execute “with consistency and dedication” the work assigned to him, “having absolute awareness of the supreme honour bestowed upon me by the Council of Ministers’ decision to assign me the duties of National Guard chief and of the obligation arising from this towards the Cypriot people”.
The handover ceremony took place at Stavrovouni. Speaking at the ceremony, Defence Minister Vasilis Palmas emphasised that “the National Guard constitutes the cornerstone in the effort to safeguard the supreme good of national security”.
