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قيادة القوات الجوية القبرصية

قيادة القوات الجوية القبرصية

Διοίκηση Αεροπορίας Κύπρου · Kıbrıs Hava Komutanlığı

The Cyprus Air Command (Διοίκηση Αεροπορίας Κύπρου) is the small helicopter-and-drone air arm of the Republic of Cyprus’s National Guard, founded in 1964 and never equipped with a combat jet: it fought the 1974 war with no aircraft at all, spent two decades flying Russian Mi-35P gunships from Paphos, and since 2022 has swapped them for Airbus H145Ms, Israeli drones and Western air defence while the island stays divided and its airspace is guarded, in practice, with help from Greece and the British bases.

علامة وطنيةThe roundel: blue outside and at the centre, with a white ring between
0طائرات حربية
2قواعد جوية نشطة
1964تأسست
3الأنواع المتقاعدة
Photo: Communication Specialist 3rd Class Bill Dodge / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
دولةقبرصتأسست1964حالةنشيطالمقر الرئيسيAndreas Papandreou Air Base, PaphosقائدAlexandros Georgiou
القصة

The Cyprus Air Command story: a republic with no air force, a war without aircraft and the turn to the West

1960–1964: a republic with no air force

The Republic of Cyprus became independent on 16 August 1960 with a constitution that allowed an army of 2,000 men, 60 per cent Greek Cypriot and 40 per cent Turkish Cypriot, according to Wikipedia. What aviation it had was civil in all but name: an Air Wing with a few light aircraft for search and rescue, ambulance flights, fire-fighting and pollution control, flying in civilian markings until 1987. The constitutional order broke down in the intercommunal crisis of 1963–64 — which the Turkish Cypriot authorities describe as a planned campaign against them — and a National Guard was set up in June 1964. It had no combat aircraft. When the Guard attacked the Kokkina enclave in August 1964, Turkish F-100 Super Sabres struck its positions and patrol boats; on 8 August a 40 mm gun shot down Captain Cengiz Topel, the circumstances of whose death in Greek Cypriot custody are still disputed.

1974: the war fought without aircraft, and the night of the Noratlas

The 1974 war began with a coup on 15 July, staged against President Makarios by the military junta in Athens. Turkey landed on 20 July; the Turkish Cypriot foreign ministry says it intervened under Article IV of the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee to prevent the island’s annexation to Greece and to protect Turkish Cypriots, while the Cypriot government calls it an invasion and describes the north as under Turkish occupation. The UN says Turkish aircraft raided Nicosia airport from the first day. The National Guard fought, in Wikipedia’s words, without air power. Its one air episode was a tragedy: on the night of 21–22 July Greek Noratlas transports flew commandos from Crete to Nicosia (Operation Niki), and Guard anti-aircraft gunners who had not been warned shot one down. The UN took over the airport as a protected area on 23 July, and after the second Turkish offensive of 14–16 August the ceasefire lines became the UN buffer zone.

1983–2000: Gazelles, missiles and a base at Paphos

The north declared itself the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on 15 November 1983; the UN Security Council called the declaration legally invalid in Resolution 541, and only Turkey recognises it. The Air Command became a military service in the proper sense only in 1987, when, according to Wikipedia, it bought Aerospatiale SA-342L Gazelles armed with HOT anti-tank missiles, Bell 206 helicopters and Pilatus PC-9 trainers. In 1997 Cyprus ordered two Russian S-300PMU-1 long-range missile systems; Turkey threatened to strike them, and in December 1998 President Glafcos Clerides had them sent to Crete, taking Tor-M1 short-range systems in exchange. The air arm’s home became the military side of Paphos airport, named after the Greek prime minister Andreas Papandreou, with hardened shelters beside a 2,700 m civil runway. Cypriot media reported that air defence radars there locked on to Turkish aircraft in October 2000 and April 2002.

2002–2022: the Mi-35 years

In 2001–2002 Cyprus quietly bought 12 new Mil Mi-35P attack helicopters, serials 811 to 822, which Wikipedia says were first seen in a three-ship flypast at the funeral of Lieutenant General Evangelos Florakis on 12 July 2002. Florakis, chief of the National Guard, had been killed two days earlier with four other officers when a Bell 206 caught fire and crashed near Kouklia on the way from Lakatamia to Paphos. More losses followed: a PC-9M crashed into a church bell tower near Kolossi on 10 September 2005 during an unauthorised manoeuvre, killing both pilots, and Mi-35P 822 crashed after take-off from Paphos on 5 July 2006, killing a Russian instructor and a Cypriot student. The gunships gave a small army real firepower, but they tied it to Russian support; after the sanctions of 2022 Cypriot Russian-made systems were short of spare parts, the Cyprus Mail reported. Lakatamia, the Nicosia air base, closed in April 2013, according to Wikipedia.

2022–2025: the turn to the West

The United States eased its 1987 arms embargo on Cyprus in 2020 and lifted it on 1 October 2022, and in January 2025 opened Foreign Military Sales to the island. The helicopter fleet turned west first. In June 2022 Cyprus signed a contract with Airbus Helicopters for six H145M light attack helicopters, with an option for six more; the Cyprus Mail puts the price at 140 million euros. The 11 remaining Mi-35Ps were sold to Serbia in November 2023, for 105 million euros according to the Cyprus Mail. Airbus delivered the first two H145Ms on 26 March 2025. Greece donated an Embraer ERJ-135 for the president in September 2022, two Air Tractor AT-802 fire-bombers moved from the forestry department to a new National Guard unit in February 2025, and Israeli Aerostar and Searcher drones and the Barak MX air defence system (operational from December 2024, per Wikipedia) moved the air arm from Russian suppliers to Israeli ones.

2026: drones over the island, and what is still missing

In March 2026 the war with Iran reached Cyprus. A drone hit the runway at RAF Akrotiri, a British sovereign base and not Cypriot territory, on the night of 1–2 March, and Paphos airport was evacuated when two more drones approached. The government said National Guard radars tracked the whole flight and that the Akrotiri drone came from Lebanon; Britain’s defence ministry said it was not launched from Iran. Greece sent F-16s, a deployment the defence minister called temporary, and the government said Paphos is lent to the Americans only for humanitarian evacuations. The Paphos base is to be rebuilt from 2027 with a key US role; EU SAFE loans of up to 1.18 billion euros and a target of 2 per cent of GDP by 2028 pay for drones and counter-drone systems. What is still missing is an air force in the usual sense: about 1,200 people, no fighter, and, by a Cypriot think-tank’s count, a military balance that still favours Turkey.

The 1974 war began with a coup on 15 July, staged against President Makarios by the military junta in Athens.Cyprus Air Command · verified 2026-09-30

لمحة سريعة

The Cyprus Air Command in numbers

خدمة

الاسم الأصلي
Διοίκηση Αεροπορίας ΚύπρουGreek, the name given by English Wikipedia; its Turkish form there is Kıbrıs Hava Komutanlığı (German Wikipedia gives Kıbrıs Hava Kuvvetleri). The National Guard’s own site, army.gov.cy, could not be reached to confirm the official spelling; the Cyprus Mail calls it the Aviation Command or Air Command
تأسست
1964Wikipedia dates the Air Command to 1964, the year the National Guard was formed (4 June 1964 per the Cyprus Mail, 15 June per Wikipedia). An Air Wing with light aircraft in civilian markings had existed since independence in 1960; military designation came in 1987
جزء من
Cypriot National GuardOne of three commands with the ground forces and the Naval Command. The Chief of the National Guard is Lt Gen Emmanouel Theodorou, a Greek officer, since 9 October 2025
القاعدة الرئيسية
Andreas Papandreou Air Base, PaphosThe military side of Paphos International Airport (LCPH), sharing its runway. Wikipedia also lists Lakatamia near Nicosia as a reserve base; the National Guard article says Lakatamia closed in April 2013
قائد قيادة القوات الجوية
Brig. (pilot) Alexandros GeorgiouCyprus Mail, 18 June 2026. English Wikipedia names Brig. Gen. George Alexandrou; start date not confirmed
وزير الدفاع
Vasilis PalmasDefence minister in all Cyprus Mail reports checked from November 2024 to September 2026

قوة

الأفراد
حوالي 1200German Wikipedia, citing Flight International’s World Air Forces 2024 (end of 2023); English Wikipedia gives the same figure
طائرات الهليكوبتر
  • Airbus H145M — 3–5 delivered of 6 ordered
  • Aerospatiale SA-342L Gazelle — 4, with HOT missiles
  • AgustaWestland AW139 — 3, search and rescue
  • Bell 206L LongRanger — 2

No fixed-wing combat aircraft. H145M numbers differ between sources: Airbus delivered the first two on 26 March 2025; the Cyprus Mail said three in October 2025; Wikipedia says four delivered in 2025

الطائرات ذات الأجنحة الثابتة
  • Embraer ERJ-135 — 1, presidential transport
  • Air Tractor AT-802 — 2, fire-fighting

The ERJ-135 was donated by Greece in September 2022; the AT-802s came from the Department of Forests in February 2025

الطائرات بدون طيار
  • Aeronautics Aerostar — 4 (since 2019)
  • IAI Searcher — 2
  • Swarmly Poseidon H-10 — Cypriot-built, from 2025

Israeli types; four more Aerostars on order. The Poseidon H-10 is flown by the artillery

الدفاع الجوي الأرضي
  • Barak MX — about 2 batteries
  • Tor-M1 — about 6
  • Buk-M1-2 — about 8
  • Aspide with Skyguard, Mistral, 35 mm guns

Wikipedia’s estimates; the National Guard does not publish numbers. Barak MX operational from December 2024; Tor-M1 received in the 1998 S-300 exchange

ميزانية الدفاع
588.4 million euros (2025)Up from 584.5 million euros in 2024; the ministry aims at 2 per cent of GDP by 2028. EU SAFE loans of up to 1.18 billion euros come on top

بنية تحتية

القواعد الجوية
  • Andreas Papandreou, Paphos — main base, shared runway 11/29, 2,700 m
  • Lakatamia, Nicosia — reserve base, reported closed 2013

Radar and air defence sites in the Troodos Mountains complete the network

Closed airfield
مطار نيقوسيا الدوليThe pre-1974 international airport and former RAF Nicosia. A UN Protected Area since 23 July 1974, inside the buffer zone, with no civil traffic
Foreign bases on the island
  • RAF Akrotiri — UK Sovereign Base Area
  • Lefkoniko (Geçitkale) — Turkish drones, in the north

Akrotiri is British sovereign territory under the 1960 Treaty of Establishment, not part of the Republic; Cyprus calls the bases a remnant of colonialism. The Lefkoniko airfield in the north, which Turkish Cypriots call Geçitkale, is described by the Cyprus Centre for Strategic Studies as a base for Turkish Bayraktar drones

UN buffer zone
About 180 kmThe ceasefire line of 16 August 1974, patrolled by UNFICYP; the National Guard does not fly over the north
ملاجئ محصنة
At PaphosWikipedia describes the Paphos base as having hardened aircraft shelters; their number is not published

بناء

How the Cyprus Air Command is organised

One of the National Guard’s three commands, based at Andreas Papandreou Air Base, Paphos, with a helicopter squadron there and a search and rescue squadron whose base is not confirmed. Cyprus has never owned a fighter or any combat jet: the Air Command flies helicopters, Israeli drones and two fire-bombers, and Greek F-16s have operated from Paphos since March 2026 in a deployment the Cypriot defence minister calls temporary. Ground-based air defence, from Barak MX to Tor-M1 and Buk-M1-2 by Wikipedia’s estimates, and radar sites in the Troodos Mountains complete the network.

AG

Brigadier (pilot)Alexandros GeorgiouChief of Air Command (Aviation Command) of the National Guard
قيادة القوات الجويةΔιοίκηση Αεροπορίας Κύπρου
المقر الرئيسي

قيادة القوات الجوية القبرصية

Διοίκηση Αεροπορίας Κύπρου
Paphos

One of three commands of the National Guard, with the ground forces and the Naval Command, based at Andreas Papandreou Air Base, Paphos. The Cyprus Mail named Brig. (pilot) Alexandros Georgiou as its chief in June 2026; English Wikipedia names Brig. Gen. George Alexandrou, and the date of appointment is not confirmed.

طائرات الهليكوبتر

450 Squadron

450 Mira Elikopteron
Paphos

Formed at Paphos in May 2002, per Aeroflight, and for two decades the home of the Mi-35P gunships, whose 11 survivors went to Serbia in November 2023. The Airbus H145M replaces them: six were ordered in June 2022 and the first two delivered on 26 March 2025. Where the H145Ms are based has not been confirmed officially.

البحث والإنقاذ

460 Squadron

460 Mira Elikopteron

Formed in 2011 with AW139s for search and rescue with the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre at Larnaca; the Air Command has three. Aeroflight bases the squadron at Lakatamia, but whether Lakatamia is still open is disputed, so its current base is not confirmed.


في الخدمة

What the Cyprus Air Command flies today

كل نوع متاح برسوم، ويرتبط بصفحته في كتاب الوحوش إن وجدت. تشير الأرقام إلى الطائرات المسجلة، وليس الطائرات المتاحة في يوم معين.

يكتب دور في الخدمة منذ الوحدات ملحوظات
طائرات إيرباص المروحية H145Mفي الخدمة مروحية هجومية خفيفة ومروحية متعددة الأغراض 2025 3–5 in service. Six ordered in June 2022 with an option for six more.

أكثر

Airbus delivered the first two on 26 March 2025; the Cyprus Mail reported three in service and three more due in 2026 (October 2025); Wikipedia says four were delivered in 2025 and lists five with one on order.

Aerospatiale SA-342L Gazelleفي الخدمة Anti-tank and scout helicopter 4 1987 Four in service. Wikipedia’s National Guard article says six were bought in June 1987; its Air Command article says four; one airframe was reportedly used for spares.
أغوستا ويستلاند AW139في الخدمة مروحية البحث والإنقاذ 3 ثلاثة، بحسب ويكيبيديا.
بيل 206 إل لونج رينجرفي الخدمة Utility and liaison helicopter 2 1987 Two left of three bought in the 1980s.
Embraer ERJ-135 (EMB-135 Legacy)في الخدمة النقل الرئاسي 1 2022 واحد.
جرار الهواء AT-802في الخدمة Fire-fighting aircraft 2 2025 اثنين.
Aeronautics Aerostarفي الخدمة طائرة استطلاع بدون طيار 4 2019 Four, with four more on order, per Wikipedia.
IAI Searcherفي الخدمة طائرة استطلاع بدون طيار 2 اثنان، بحسب ويكيبيديا.
Swarmly Poseidon H-10في الخدمة طائرة استطلاع بدون طيار ذات إقلاع وهبوط عمودي 2025
غزال4
Aerostar4
AW1393
بيل 2062
AT-8022
Searcher2
ERJ-1351

عند الطلب

يكتب تم الطلب التسليم الأول ملحوظات
طائرات إيرباص المروحية H145Mعند الطلب 2025 1–3 still to come of the six ordered in June 2022 (Wikipedia: one; Cyprus Mail, October 2025: three in 2026), with an option for six more.
Aeronautics Aerostarعند الطلب 4 Four more reconnaissance drones on order, per Wikipedia; delivery dates not published.
ALTUS-LSA Kerveros (ATLAS 8) combat droneعند الطلب A Greek-Cypriot programme announced in July 2026 to develop and co-produce an armed drone under the EU SAFE framework, tested with MBDA’s Akeron MP missile in Crete.

أكثر


كانت تُدار سابقاً

Every type the Cyprus Air Command has retired

3 types, from the Light aircraft of the Air Wing to the Mil Mi-35P (Mi-24PN export) Hind. تمثل الأرقام القصوى عدد الطائرات التي تم استلامها على مدار فترة الخدمة بأكملها، وليس قوة الأسطول في أي تاريخ محدد.

يكتب دور قمة تم تقديمه تم استبداله بـ ملحوظات
Mil Mi-35P (Mi-24PN export) Hind مروحية هجومية 12 2002–2023 H145M 12 new-build aircraft, serials 811 to 822; one lost in 2006 and 11 sold to Serbia in 2023.
Light aircraft of the Air Wing Search and rescue, ambulance and patrol 1960–1987 A small number; types and numbers not confirmed.
Pilatus PC-9 and PC-9M مدرب وهجوم خفيف 1987– At least two: Wikipedia says two PC-9s arrived in 1987; a PC-9M serialled 902 was lost in 2005. Total numbers and retirement date were not confirmed.

القواعد الجوية

Where the Cyprus Air Command flies from

الدبابيس السوداء تمثل القواعد النشطة، أما الدبابيس المجوفة فتمثل المطارات التي تم إغلاقها. The Air Command flies from Andreas Papandreou Air Base, the military side of Paphos International Airport; Lakatamia near Nicosia is listed as open by Aeroflight and as closed since April 2013 by Wikipedia, and the question is left open. Nicosia International Airport has been a UN Protected Area in the buffer zone since 23 July 1974, and Larnaca is the island’s main civil airport, used jointly by the Air Command according to Aeroflight. RAF Akrotiri, in the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, is United Kingdom territory, not a Cypriot base, and is not listed. Entries with no published aerodrome data carry no pin.

قاعدة جوية نشطة مغلق أو للحجزانقر على دبوس لفتح الصفحة الرئيسية
قاعدة منظمة الطيران المدني الدولي (ICAO) حالة المدرج الوحدات والطائرات
Andreas Papandreouمقاطعة بافوس LCPH نشيط 11/292700 مترالخرسانة الإسفلتية
LakatamiaNicosia District نشيط
  • 460 Squadron (460 Mira Elikopteron): أغوستا ويستلاند AW139
  • Helicopter-Seaplane Squadron (Mira Elikopteron-Aeroskafon): Aerospatiale SA 342L Gazelle, Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander, بيلاتوس بي سي-9, Bell 206L
  • 449 Squadron (449 Mira Antiarmatikon Elikopteron): Aerospatiale SA 342L Gazelle, Bell 206L
مطار لارنكا الدوليLarnaca District LCLK مغلق 04/223000 متر
  • Helicopter-Seaplane Squadron (Mira Elikopteron-Aeroskafon): Aerospatiale SA 342L Gazelle, Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander, بيلاتوس بي سي-9
مطار نيقوسيا الدوليNicosia District (United Nations buffer zone) LCNC أُغلق عام 1974 14/322,707 m09/271825 مترًا
  • Aircraft Squadron (Mira Aeroskafon), National Guard air wing: دورنير دو 27Q، خشب الزان C-45، بايبر PA-22 كولت
  • RAF Nicosia (Royal Air Force)

لا توجد قاعدة جوية مطابقة لهذا البحث.


ترتيب المعركة

Who is stationed where in the Cyprus Air Command

الوحدات الجوية حسب القاعدة، والوحدات الحالية أولاً. Cypriot squadrons are numbered 449, 450 and 460, and the first two grew out of a single mixed Helicopter-Seaplane Squadron that split in May 2002; the Greek F-16 detachment at Paphos and the RAF squadrons at Nicosia before 1966 are listed too, each marked as not Cypriot. Where a unit’s base or dates rest on Aeroflight or Wikipedia alone, the entry says so.

قاعدة أندرياس باباندريو الجوية · LCPHقيادة القوات الجوية القبرصية، الحرس الوطني
سرب 450 (450 ميرا إليكوبترون)Helicopter and aircraft squadron · active
ميل مي-35 بي (مسحوبة من الخدمة), بيلاتوس بي سي-9, ، بريتن-نورمان بي إن-2 آيلاندر (حتى عام 2012)
وحدة طائرات إف-16 التابعة للقوات الجوية اليونانيةAllied fighter detachment (temporary) · allied
لوكهيد مارتن إف-16 (يوناني)
Lakatamia · قيادة القوات الجوية القبرصية، الحرس الوطني
460 Squadron (460 Mira Elikopteron)سرب طائرات الهليكوبتر للبحث والإنقاذ · نشط
أغوستا ويستلاند AW139
Helicopter-Seaplane Squadron (Mira Elikopteron-Aeroskafon)1996–2002
إيروسباسيال إس إيه 342 إل غزال، بريتن نورمان بي إن-2 أيسلاندر، بيلاتوس بي سي-9، بيل 206 إل
449 Squadron (449 Mira Antiarmatikon Elikopteron)2002–2013
Aerospatiale SA 342L Gazelle, Bell 206L

لا توجد وحدة مطابقة لهذا البحث.


الجدول الزمني

Cyprus Air Command milestones, 1914 to today

1960

16 August: independence. An Air Wing with light aircraft in civilian markings is set up for rescue, ambulance and patrol flights, according to Wikipedia.

1964

June: the National Guard is founded (4 June per the Cyprus Mail, 15 June per Wikipedia). 8 August: Turkish F-100s attack at Tillyria; a Guard 40 mm gun shoots down Capt. Cengiz Topel.

1974

15 July: coup backed by the Athens junta. 20 July: Turkish landing and air raids on Nicosia airport. 21–22 July: Operation Niki; Guard gunners shoot down a Greek Noratlas. 23 July: Nicosia airport becomes a UN Protected Area. 14–16 August: second Turkish offensive and ceasefire.

1983

15 November: the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is declared; UN Security Council Resolution 541 (18 November) calls it legally invalid.

1987

The air arm takes military markings and buys SA-342L Gazelles with HOT missiles, Bell 206s and Pilatus PC-9s.

1998

December: after a year of Turkish threats, the S-300 missiles ordered in 1997 are diverted to Crete; Cyprus receives Tor-M1 systems instead.

2000

22 October: Tor-M1 radars at Andreas Papandreou Air Base reportedly lock on to Turkish aircraft; another lock-on on two F-16s is reported on 5 April 2002.

2002

10 July: a Bell 206 crashes near Kouklia, killing the National Guard chief Lt Gen Evangelos Florakis and four officers. 12 July: the new Mi-35Ps appear in public at his funeral.

2005

10 September: PC-9M 902 crashes near Kolossi; both pilots killed.

2006

5 July: Mi-35P 822 crashes after take-off from Paphos; a Russian instructor and a Cypriot student are killed.

2013

April: Lakatamia air base near Nicosia closes, according to Wikipedia; its Gazelles move to Paphos.

2022

June: six H145Ms ordered. September: Greece donates an ERJ-135. 1 October: the US lifts its 1987 arms embargo.

2023

November: the 11 remaining Mi-35Ps are sold to Serbia.

2024

December: Barak MX air defence becomes operational, according to Wikipedia.

2025

January: Cyprus is admitted to US Foreign Military Sales. February: two AT-802 fire-bombers join. 26 March: the first two H145Ms are delivered. 9 October: Lt Gen Emmanouel Theodorou becomes chief of the National Guard.

2026

1–2 March: drone strike on RAF Akrotiri; Air Command air defences on alert, Greek F-16s deployed. June: 2026 declared the Year of Maintenance. 31 August: Greece and Israel sign Achilles Shield, which Cyprus says will also protect it.


سجل القتال

كل حرب وأزمة واجهتها قيادة القوات الجوية القبرصية

الطلعات الجوية والخسائر حيثما يسمح السجل بذلك، وفراغ تام حيثما لا يسمح بذلك.

3الصراعات
1964أولاً
3طائرة مفقودة
0قُتل
  • معركة تيليريا 1964 The Guard had no aircraft; its anti-aircraft guns engaged the Turkish Air Force, and one shot down an F-100
  • حرب قبرص عام 1974 1974 Fought on the ground without air cover; its anti-aircraft units defended Nicosia airport and, by mistake, shot down a Greek transport bringing reinforcements
  • الدفاع الجوي لقبرص في الحرب الإيرانية 2026 Placed its air defences on alert, tracked drones with its radars and worked with Greek and British forces on air threats to the island

افتح سجل القتال الكامل


الشركات المصنعة

Who built the Cyprus Air Command fleet

كل شركة تقف وراء الطائرات الموجودة في هذه الصفحة لها صفحتها الخاصة: القصة، وكل نوع قامت ببنائه، والأرقام، والقوات الجوية الأخرى التي تستخدمها.


أسئلة وأجوبة

Everything people ask about the Cyprus Air Command

What is the Cyprus air force called?
Its English name is the Cyprus Air Command, the title of its English Wikipedia article; in Greek it is Διοίκηση Αεροπορίας Κύπρου (Dioikisi Aeroporias Kyprou) and in Turkish Kıbrıs Hava Komutanlığı. It is the air arm of the Cypriot National Guard, not an independent service. The National Guard’s own site could not be reached to confirm the official spelling, and the Cyprus Mail also calls it the Aviation Command.
هل تمتلك قبرص طائرات مقاتلة؟
No. The Cyprus Air Command has never flown a combat jet. Its combat aircraft are helicopters — Airbus H145Ms and Gazelles with HOT anti-tank missiles — and its air defence rests on ground-based missiles such as Barak MX and Tor-M1. When Cyprus needed fighters in March 2026, Greece sent F-16s.
What aircraft does the Cyprus Air Command fly in 2026?
Airbus H145M light attack helicopters (three to five delivered of six ordered, sources differ), four SA-342L Gazelles, three AW139 search and rescue helicopters and two Bell 206s, plus an Embraer ERJ-135 for the president, two Air Tractor AT-802 fire-bombers and Israeli Aerostar and Searcher drones, according to Wikipedia and the Cyprus Mail.
What happened to Cyprus’s Mi-35 helicopters?
Cyprus bought 12 new Mi-35P gunships from Russia in 2001–2002. One crashed near Paphos on 5 July 2006. After 2022 Russian spares became hard to get, and the 11 survivors were sold to Serbia in November 2023 — for 105 million euros according to the Cyprus Mail. Six Airbus H145Ms were ordered to replace them.
Did Cyprus have an air force in 1974?
No combat aircraft at all. Wikipedia says the National Guard fought the 1974 war without air power. The only air operation on the Greek side was Operation Niki, when Greek Noratlas transports flew commandos from Crete to Nicosia on 21–22 July 1974; National Guard gunners, not told they were coming, shot one down.
How many died when the Noratlas was shot down at Nicosia in 1974?
The sources differ. The Hellenic Air Force says the shoot-down cost a crew of four and 12 parachutists. Wikipedia says Niki-4 was lost with four crew and 27 commandos, and counts 33 commandos killed in the whole operation. The remains, buried at the Makedonitissa Tomb, were identified and 16 were returned to families in 2016.
Why is Nicosia International Airport closed?
It lies in the UN buffer zone. After Turkish air raids and fighting around it in July 1974, the UN force commander declared it a United Nations Protected Area on 23 July 1974, with the agreement of both sides’ commanders, and it has stayed closed since; UNFICYP says attempts to reopen it in 1993–94 failed.
Is RAF Akrotiri a Cypriot air base?
No. Akrotiri and Dhekelia are British Sovereign Base Areas created by the 1960 Treaty of Establishment and are not part of the Republic of Cyprus; the Republic calls them a remnant of colonialism, a claim the UK does not recognise. The Cyprus Air Command flies from Andreas Papandreou Air Base at Paphos.
How do Cyprus and Turkey describe the division of the island?
The Republic of Cyprus describes the north as territory under continued Turkish occupation since 1974. The Turkish Cypriot authorities say Türkiye intervened lawfully under the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee, and in 1983 declared the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which only Turkey recognises; UN Security Council Resolution 541 called the declaration legally invalid.
Is the Paphos air base used by the United States or Greece?
Occasionally. The Cypriot government said in March 2026 that it grants facilities to the Americans and other countries only for humanitarian purposes such as evacuations, and that no American aircraft were stationed there. Greek F-16s deployed to Cyprus in March 2026 on what the defence minister called a temporary basis. An upgrade of the base, with a key US role, is due to start in 2027.



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