The fact that Cyprus cannot currently become a member of Nato is preventing the National Guard from being strengthened even further, President Nikos Christodoulides said on Thursday.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Risk Forum in Larnaca, he said that due to this fact, he is “working precisely in order to address this problem”, having taken “specific actions, in particular with the United States, to strengthen the National Guard”.
However, like his Defence Minister Vasilis Palmas on Wednesday, he was coy when discussing whether or not Cyprus has bought “iron dome-type” hardware to protect itself from missiles.
“I will make absolutely no statement on the substance of the moves we are making to strengthen the Republic of Cyprus’ deterrent power. All I can say is that we will do and we are doing everything necessary to strengthen the Republic of Cyprus’ deterrent power,” he said.
He added that he is doing this “not only due to the fact that we are a country under occupation, but also as a European Union in a region of particular geostrategic importance”.
On Wednesday, Palmas had said “we always avoid commenting on many issues related to this”, adding, “we work hard, we work tirelessly, and we say very little.”
“The National Guard is always on alert, and the reason for that is that for 50 years, there have been 40,000 troops in Cyprus. At the same time, it is also on alert because the region is in a state of constant and prolonged instability and therefore, we have a duty and obligation to ensure the security of the Republic of Cyprus’ public,” he added.
Rumours of Cyprus buying a variant of Israel’s “iron dome” first surfaced in 2021, with some news outlets now reporting that the process of the technology’s acquisition has now been completed.
The rumours of a Cypriot iron dome resurfaced after Greek Defence Minister Nikos Dendias told his country’s parliament last month that his ministry had created a “coherent and comprehensive air defence plan”.
These systems include an anti-drone system as well as anti-aircraft weapons which will reportedly be able to deal with short, medium, and long-range threats.
In Greece, the creation of an “iron dome” has gone hand in hand with the establishment of the Hellenic Centre for Defence Innovation (HCDI), which, Dendias said, will “bring the needs of the armed forces into contact with the defence innovation environment which exists in Greece”.
“The small ecosystem of high-tech defence companies will cooperate with similar ecosystems in other countries,” he said.
He added that the development of the ‘Centaur’ anti-drone system was the HCDI’s “first great success”, after it was attached to a frigate which was deployed to the Red Sea as part of a Nato mission and shot down two drones fired by the Houthi movement from Yemen.
As such, he said, all Greek frigates will now be equipped with ‘Centaur’ technology.