Cyprus has closed this Monday with Israel the purchase of a new offshore patrol vessel and the upgrade of various naval systems already operational, in a move that further consolidates the military cooperation that both countries have been strengthening in recent years.
The pact was signed in Cypriot territory by the director general of the Israeli Ministry of Defense, Amir Baram, and by his Cypriot counterpart, Stelios Kountouris. According to the document, "Israel will supply Cyprus with a new patrol vessel built by 'Israel Shipyards' and equipped with a range of naval systems from Rafael."
In the same official note, the Israeli Ministry of Defense also details that "the systems on board the current patrol vessel of Cyprus, also built by 'Israel Shipyards', will be modernized," a company that started as a public enterprise and was privatized years later, in 1995.
This is the vessel "Commodore Andreas Ioannides," 62 meters in length, acquired by Cyprus from Israel in 2018. Nicosia has defined this new understanding as "an important new step to strengthen the operational capabilities of the Naval Command of Cyprus and improve its response capacity to maritime security challenges."
For now, the final amount of the contract has not been made public. However, the Israeli economic newspaper "Calcalista" noted last Tuesday that 'Israel Shipyards' and 'Rafael' were "close" to finalizing a joint agreement to supply warships and weapon systems to Cyprus for an approximate value of 150 million euros.