Cyprus is pushing Israel to close a deal for Merkava tanks as soon as possible as it moves to renew the National Guard’s ageing armoured fleet, philenews understands. The upgraded Mk 4 version is expected to cost close to 10 million euros a vehicle.
As previously reported, the deal has been held up partly because the Israeli army has been using the tanks heavily in operations. The Israeli Defence Ministry has also decided to crew every available tank, calling up even reserve units.
Much of the National Guard’s armoured fleet is made up of older-generation vehicles that have used up a large part of their service life, despite periodic maintenance and upgrades. The age and capabilities of the current tanks have put gradual renewal on the agenda at a time when the modern battlefield demands greater protection, advanced surveillance and fire-control systems, and more interoperability. The decision to buy new tanks was taken years ago, but cost and logistics support have made it difficult to carry out.
Over the years, France’s Leclerc, Germany’s Leopard series and Israel’s Merkava have all been considered. According to the same information, the Merkava was judged some time ago to be the cheapest option and the easiest to support. Because Israel is so close to Cyprus, spare parts and ammunition could reach a Cypriot port quickly and easily, and a damaged tank could be shipped there for repair within a few weeks.
The expected Merkava price is lower than that of either the Leclerc or the Leopard. Even used, older Leopards are expensive. In December 2024, the Czech Republic signed a deal worth around 161 million euros for 14 refurbished Leopard 2A4s. The sum, which works out at about 11.5 million euros per tank, also covered ammunition, an extensive logistics support package and related equipment.
The option of taking older Leopard 1A5s from Greek Army stocks was also examined. It was dropped as uneconomical, because bringing the tanks up to modern operational standards would have cost too much.
AMX-30B2 upgrade and funding
Alithia newspaper reported a decision to upgrade the National Guard’s AMX-30B2 tanks, citing a figure of 25 million euros. According to philenews information, just over 4 million euros of that goes on the tanks themselves. The rest covers other work and purchases that cannot be disclosed for national security reasons.
Decisions to release money for upgrades or new equipment are not made by National Guard General Staff officers. They go through the Defence Ministry’s armaments directorate and its internal tendering procedures, and need the approval of the parliamentary Defence Committee.
The upgrade includes modern thermal cameras and other systems expected to improve the tanks’ ability to detect and engage targets, particularly at night. It will not be a full overhaul but will focus on specific operational needs and individual systems. No decision has been taken so far to retire the AMX-30B2s.
The Brazilian-made EE-9 Cascavel, one of the oldest types of armoured vehicle still in service, is expected to be the first the National Guard retires, at the first opportunity, according to the same information.
