Cyprus Air Command
Air warfare branch of Cyprus' military
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Cyprus Air Command (Greek: Διοίκηση Αεροπορίας Κύπρου, romanized: Dioikisi Aeroporias Kyprou, Turkish: Kıbrıs Hava Komutanlığı), also known as the Cyprus Air Force or Cypriot Air Force, is the armed air wing of the National Guard. This force is equipped with attack and anti-tank helicopters, surface-to-air missile systems and integrated radar systems.
| Air Command of Cyprus | |
|---|---|
| Διοίκηση Αεροπορίας Κύπρου (Greek) | |
Cyprus Air Force emblem | |
| Founded | 1964 |
| Country |  Cyprus |
| Branch | Air force |
| Role | Aerial warfare |
| Size | 1,200 personnel 15 helicopters, 3 fixed wing aircraft, 4 unmanned aerial vehicles. On order: 2 helicopters + 4 UAVs |
| Part of | Cypriot National Guard |
| Engagements | 2026 Iran conflict |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Βrigadier General George Alexandrou |
| Insignia | |
| Roundel |  |
| Fin flash |  |
History
The history of Cypriot aviation began on 16 August 1960, after it won its independence from the United Kingdom, when an Air Wing was established on the island which. It was equipped with a small number of light aircraft and mainly performed search and rescue tasks (SAR), transport of the sick, control of fires and marine pollution as well as defense and police forces on the Cypriot coast and territory.
Until 1987, the aircraft of the Cypriot aviation still operated with civilian brands, as the usual military nature of the young air force had not yet developed. In the same year, 3 light helicopters Bell 206, 4 utility helicopters Aérospatiale Gazelle and 2 intermediate trainers Pilatus PC-9.
From this moment on, the Cypriot air force began to adopt for its aircraft a camouflage livery and nationality insignia with the national flag and the classic cockade that perfectly follows that of Greece, the nation with which it exists a strong bond, not only military.[1]
In July 2022, the Cypriot government announced that six Eurocopter EC145 helicopters would be procured from Airbus with an option for six more. These helicopters would cover the roles of reconnaissance and attack. They will be replacing the ageing Mil Mi-24 helicopters in service which are hard and costly to maintain. Turkish Cypriot authorities have called the helicopter purchase as a “provocation”.[2] The helicopters arrived in March of 2025.[3]
In March 2026, the air defenses of the Air Command were placed on alert following the strikes in Iran, working with Greek and assissting British forces in tracking aerial threats against the island including the Sovereign Base Areas where British forces failed to intercept shahed drones which impacted RAF Akrotiri.[4][5][6][7]
Organisation
Air Force bases and stations
- Andreas Papandreou AFB, Paphos (ACTIVE)
- The primary airbase of the Cyprus Air Force, this base adjacent to the Paphos International Airport has a runway, taxiway, hardened aircraft-shelters, and integrated command, control and communication facilities.
- Lakatamia AFB, Nicosia (HEADQUARTERS)
- The reserve airbase of the Cyprus Air Force lay just south of the Cypriot capital of Nicosia. The base rarely hosted fixed-wing aircraft, and simply served as a staging-post for helicopters operating in and out of the Nicosia area.
- Troodos Stations (ACTIVE)
- The Troodos Mountains, the highest mountain range in Cyprus, hosts a number of radar and air-defense facilities. Their unit designations and deployment status are not made public.
Equipment
Aircraft
| Aircraft | Origin | Type | Photo | Variant | In service | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed-wing aircraft | ||||||
| Embraer ERJ-135 |  Brazil |
VIP Transport | .jpg) |
EMB-135BJ | 1 | Donated by Greece to Cyprus in September 2022. The aircraft is used to transport the President of the Republic and other government officials.[10] |
| Air Tractor AT-802 |  United States |
Fire-fighting | .jpg) |
2 | Transferred in February 2025 from the Department of Forests to the newly created fire-fighting unit of the National Guard. 3,1 ton water tank capacity.[11][12] | |
| Helicopters | ||||||
| Airbus H145 |  France  Germany |
Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter |  |
H145M | 5 | Another 1 on order with an option to buy an additional 6. First 4 delivered in 2025. Equipped with the HForce weapons system. Carrying 12,7mm machine gun and 12 rocket pot. It may also carry Spike ER missiles in the future.[13][14][15][16] |
| Aérospatiale Gazelle | France |
Utility/Anti-tank |  |
Gazelle SA 342L | 4 | Armed with 4 HOT Anti-tank Guided Missiles.[17][18] |
| AgustaWestland AW139 |  Italy |
SAR/Utility | .jpg) |
AW139 | 3 | Used primarily for Search and Rescue (SAR) in coordination with JRCC Larnaca.[19][17][18] |
| Bell 206 | United States |
Utility/Transport |  |
LongRanger III | 2 | Three acquired from Belgian source in the 1980s. One lost in crash in 2003.[19][17] |
| Unmanned aerial vehicles | ||||||
| Aerostar |  Israel |
Surveillance/Recon |  |
4 | In service since 2019. +4 on order.[17] | |
| IAI Searcher | Israel |
Surveillance/Recon | _passes_through_the_Rajpath_during_the_58th_Republic_Day_Parade_-_2007,_in_New_Delhi_on_January_26,_2007.jpg) |
2 | [20] | |
| Swarmly Poseidon H-10 | Cyprus |
Surveillance/Recon/VTOL | Used by the artillery Brigade for recon and target designation. Entered service 2025.[21][22] | |||
Retired aircraft include the Mil Mi-35P.[23]
Air defense
.jpg)
| Name | Origin | Type | Photo | In service | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surface-to-air missiles | |||||
| Barak MX | Israel |
Surface-to-air missile system |  |
Possibly 2 batteries.[24] | In operation as of December 2024.[25][26][27][28] |
| Aspide | Italy |
Surface-to-air missile system |  |
24 | 6 batteries/130 missiles. Utilized with the Skyguard system (Othellos) using Oerlikon GDF 35mm. 12 Skyguard radars.[29][19] |
| Mistral | France |
Man-portable air defense system |  |
30 (300 missiles) | 18 Mistral MANPADS and 12 x2 Mistral ATLAS system mounted on Pinzgauer utility vehicles. More than 300 missiles. More missile on order as of June 2023.[30][19][29][31] |
| TOR M-1 |  Soviet Union
 Russia |
Surface-to-air missile system | .jpg) |
6 | Delivered by Greece in replacement for the S-300.[29][17]~150 missiles. |
| Buk M1-2 | Soviet Union
Russia |
Surface-to-air missile system |  |
8 | Total number of systems is unknown. Possibly 2 batteries with 4 systems each.[17][32][33] |
| 9K32 Strela-2 | Soviet Union
Russia |
Man-portable air defense system | _Manpads_Strela-3_9k34_(2107_D1999480).jpg) |
100 | Operational numbers may be less.[34] |
| 9S737M Ranzhir-M | Russia |
Mobile command center | _(521-41).jpg) |
Unknown | Mobile Command Centre for the coordination of the TOR air defense network system [35] |
| Anti-aircraft artillery | |||||
| GDF-005 |  Switzerland |
Anti-aircraft gun |  |
24 | 2x35mm anti-aircraft gun. Part of the Skyguard (Othellos) system along Aspide SAMs.[19][29] |
| Zastava M-55 |  Yugoslavia |
Anti-aircraft gun |  |
50 | 3x20mm anti-aircraft gun.[19] |
In 1998 two S-300 PMU1 systems were delivered, but then transferred to Hellenic Air Force that same year due to political considerations regarding the Cyprus Missile Crisis.
Aerial incidents between Cyprus and Turkey
Paphos Incident – 22 October 2000
On 22 October 2000, Tor-M1 air-defense batteries operated by the Cyprus National Guard at Papandreou Air Base tracked a pair of Turkish warplanes detected approaching the airbase by "locking on" to them. By Jean Christou, Cyprus Mail, 7 April 2002. The action of engaging the Turkish aircraft with radar forced the warplanes to retreat from the area, as Greek Cypriot and Greek forces conducted joint military maneuvers in the Paphos region. The incident prompted an angry outburst from the Turkish Cypriot leader, Rauf Denktaş, who was reported in the media to have condemned the radar lock-on as a provocation that could lead to war.[36]
Paphos Incident – 5 April 2002
It was variously reported in the Cyprus media that combat radars of the Cyprus National Guard, based at Papandreou Air Base in Paphos, had tracked two Turkish F-16 warplanes at 11am on 5 April 2002, by "locking-on" to them. The two Turkish aircraft were reported to have incurred into the Nicosia Flight Information Region and then passed directly over the Greek Cypriot airbase at an altitude of 3500 feet. Upon realizing that they were being tracked, the two Turkish aircraft turned back towards Turkey, and then returned to their airbase.
Cyprus EEZ - 18 August 2022
On 18 August 2022, Cypriot and Greek radars spotted a Turkish Navy ATR 72 whilst flying over Block 6 of the exclusive economic zone of Cyprus. According to media sources, the plane did a low pass at 4,500 feet, however a Cypriot official claimed that the plane did no such thing and remained at 29,000.[37]
Ranks
Commissioned officer ranks
The rank insignia of commissioned officers.
| Rank group | General / flag officers | Senior officers | Junior officers | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cyprus Air Forces[38] |
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| Αντιπτέραρχος Antipterarchos |
Υποπτέραρχος Ypopterarchos |
Ταξίαρχος Taxiarchos |
Σμήναρχος Sminarchos |
Αντισμήναρχος Antisminarchos |
Επισμηναγός Episminagos |
Σμηναγός Sminagos |
Υποσμηναγός Yposminagos |
Ανθυποσμηναγός Anthyposminagos | ||||||||||||||||
Other ranks
The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel.
| Rank group | Senior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Enlisted | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cyprus Air Forces[39][40] |
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Arm/corps insignia only | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ανθυπασπιστής Α΄ Anthypaspistís A' |
Ανθυπασπιστής Β΄ Anthypaspistís B' |
Ανθυπασπιστής Γ΄ Anthypaspistís C' |
Αρχισμηνίας Archisminías |
ΣΥΠ Αρχισμηνίας Syp Archisminías |
Επισμηνίας Episminías |
ΣΥΠ Επισμηνίας Syp Episminías |
Σμηνίας Sminías |
ΣΥΠ Σμηνίας Syp Sminías |
ΣΥΟΠ Σμηνίας Syop Sminías |
ΣΥΟΠ Υποσμηνίας Syop Yposminías |
Ανθυποσμηνίας Anthyposminías |
Σμηνίτης Sminítis | ||||||||||||||||||||||||