Elke oorlog en crisis waarmee het Cypriotische luchtmachtcommando te maken heeft gehad.
In 1964 and 1974 the National Guard fought without aircraft of its own, and its one air episode of 1974 was the mistaken shooting down of a Greek transport by its own gunners. The two sides name and describe the events of 1974 differently, and each account is given and attributed as its source states it. Where a consolidated sortie or loss figure exists in the official record it is given here; where accounts disagree, the range is shown and the disagreement named. Blank cells are blank because no figure could be verified, not because the fighting was small.
From Tillyria in 1964 to drones over the island in 2026.
| Conflict | Jaren | Tegen | Hoofdvliegtuig | Uitvallen | Vliegtuig verloren | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| De Slag om TillyriaKokkina, August 1964Cypriot National Guard (no aircraft) | 1964 | Turkey and Turkish Cypriot fighters | ||||
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The Guard had no aircraft; its anti-aircraft guns engaged the Turkish Air Force, and one shot down an F-100. Two months after its founding, the National Guard, then commanded by General George Grivas, attacked the Turkish Cypriot enclave of Kokkina on the north-west coast on 6 August 1964. Turkey intervened from the air. On 8 August Turkish F-100 Super Sabres attacked the Cypriot patrol boats Phaethon and Arion near Xeros and then bombed Guard positions and villages, dropping napalm on Kato Pyrgos, according to Wikipedia; seven of Phaethon’s crew were killed. The Greek Cypriot side had no aircraft to answer with, only guns. A Guard 40 mm anti-aircraft gun hit the F-100 of Captain Cengiz Topel, who ejected and was captured. The accounts of what followed differ: the Greek Cypriot version is that he was wounded and died in hospital after treatment, while Wikipedia’s article on Topel says it is not certain what happened to him in custody, and his body was returned to Turkey on 12 August after diplomatic efforts. The episode set the pattern for the next decade: a Cypriot force on the ground facing an enemy with air power it could not match. Resultaat Fighting stopped on 10 August 1964 under a UN-called ceasefire; the Kokkina enclave remained in Turkish Cypriot hands. Casualty totals for the battle were not found. The circumstances of Topel’s death are disputed and are given as each account states them.
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| De oorlog van 1974 op Cypruscalled the Turkish invasion by the Republic of Cyprus and the Cyprus Peace Operation (Kıbrıs Barış Harekâtı) by TurkeyCypriot National Guard (no aircraft) | 1974 | Kalkoen | Hellenic Air Force Nord Noratlas (Operation Niki) | 3 | ||
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Fought on the ground without air cover; its anti-aircraft units defended Nicosia airport and, by mistake, shot down a Greek transport bringing reinforcements. The war began with a coup: on 15 July 1974 the military junta in Athens and its Cypriot allies overthrew President Makarios. Turkey landed forces on 20 July. The two sides describe what followed differently. The Turkish Cypriot foreign ministry states that Türkiye intervened under Article IV of the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee and prevented both the annexation of the island to Greece and the destruction of the Turkish Cypriot people; the Republic of Cyprus calls it an invasion and describes the north as under continued Turkish occupation, and UN Security Council resolutions called for the withdrawal of foreign troops. The National Guard fought, as Wikipedia puts it, without air power; UNFICYP records Turkish air raids on Nicosia airport from 20 July and heavy fighting around it on 23 July. The one air operation on the Greek side was Operation Niki: on 21–22 July Greek Noratlas transports flew commandos from Souda in Crete to Nicosia, and gunners of a Guard anti-aircraft battalion, not told they were coming, took them for Turkish aircraft and shot down Niki-4 two miles short of the runway. The commandos who landed helped hold the airport, which UN troops from five nations took over as a Protected Area on 23 July. After the second Turkish offensive of 14–16 August the lines froze. Remains from Niki-4, buried at the Makedonitissa Tomb, were identified and returned to families in 2016. Resultaat Turkish forces took the north of the island; the ceasefire line of 16 August 1974 became the UN buffer zone. Nicosia airport has been a closed UN Protected Area since 23 July 1974. Figures for Operation Niki differ between the Hellenic Air Force and Wikipedia, as shown. Wikipedia’s article on Nicosia airport gives 33 servicemen killed. War-wide casualty, missing-person and displacement figures are contested and were not verified for this page. Names of the operation are given as each side uses them.
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| Luchtverdediging van Cyprus tijdens de oorlog met Iranthe Akrotiri drone strikeCypriotisch luchtcommando | 2026 | Iran and Hezbollah (per reports) | Air defence radars and missile systems | 0 | ||
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Placed its air defences on alert, tracked drones with its radars and worked with Greek and British forces on air threats to the island. Cyprus was drawn into the 2026 war with Iran a week after Tehran declared the air forces and navies of all EU states, Cyprus’s included, terrorist organisations in reply to the EU’s listing of the Revolutionary Guard. On the night of 1–2 March 2026 a drone damaged the runway at RAF Akrotiri, a British sovereign base. The next day two more drones were fired at Cyprus and Paphos airport, beside the Air Command’s main base, was evacuated; the government spokesman said both had been dealt with. The deputy government spokesman said the National Guard had recorded the Akrotiri drone’s entire trajectory and that it came from Lebanon; Britain’s Ministry of Defence said it was not launched from Iran, and later reports attributed it to Hezbollah. Wikipedia says the Air Command’s air defences were put on alert, working with Greek forces and helping British forces to track threats. Greece announced frigates and F-16s for the island on 4 March; Turkey sent six F-16s and air defence systems to the north, which Wikipedia dates to 9 March. The government, facing questions, said it lends Paphos to the Americans only for humanitarian evacuations. Resultaat Continuing: Greek F-16s were still in Cyprus in June 2026, in what the defence minister called a temporary deployment. Who launched the drones is attributed as each government stated it. The number of Greek F-16s and the dates of their arrival were not confirmed on official sites; interception claims were not found.
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Niets komt overeen met die zoekopdracht.
Elk cijfer, gecontroleerd
- Cyprus Mail: De Cypriotische luchtmacht en marine zijn door Iran tot terroristische organisaties verklaard (22 februari 2026)Iran kreeg een wederkerige sanctie opgelegd nadat de EU de Revolutionaire Garde op de sanctielijst had geplaatst.
- Cyprus Mail: Minister van Defensie bevestigt plannen voor modernisering van belangrijke infrastructuur (23 april 2026)Werkzaamheden aan de luchtmachtbasis Paphos en de marinebasis Mari vanaf 2027; Palmas blijft onder Turkse bezetting.
- Cyprus Mail: Griekse gevechtsvliegtuigen en fregat niet permanent in Cyprus (15 juni 2026)Griekse F-16's ingezet sinds maart 2026; tijdelijk, aldus Palmas.
- Cyprus Mail: Luchthaven Paphos geëvacueerd (2 maart 2026)Twee drones hebben op Cyprus geschoten; een regeringswoordvoerder meldde dat beide drones onschadelijk zijn gemaakt.
- Cyprus Times: Regering verzekert dat er geen Amerikaanse vliegtuigen in Paphos zijn (3 maart 2026)Plaatsvervangend woordvoerder Yannis Antoniou: De Nationale Garde heeft de drone vanuit Libanon getraceerd; de faciliteiten zijn uitsluitend voor humanitaire doeleinden.
- Griekse luchtmacht: vliegtuigen van de tweede generatieTwaalf van de vijftien Noratla's landden in Nicosia; het neerhalen kostte een bemanning van vier personen en twaalf parachutisten het leven.
- UNFICYP: Het door de Verenigde Naties beschermde gebied en de luchthaven van NicosiaTurkse luchtaanvallen vanaf 20 juli 1974; VN-beschermd gebied vanaf 23 juli 1974; sindsdien gesloten.
- UNFICYP: Over de bufferzoneOngeveer 180 km; staakt-het-vuren van 16 augustus 1974.
- Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken (Turks-Cypriotisch): Historisch perspectiefOfficieel standpunt van de Turks-Cyprioten: gebeurtenissen van 1963; staatsgreep van 15 juli 1974; interventie onder artikel IV van het Garantieverdrag; TRNC 15 november 1983.
- Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken van de Republiek TurkijeDe verklaring stelt dat Turkije het Grieks-Cypriotische bestuur van Zuid-Cyprus niet erkent.
Cijfers geverifieerd op 30-09-2026. Back to the Cyprus Air Command.