France to send anti-drone systems to Cyprus after British base attack, report says

NICOSIA, March 3 (Reuters) - France plans to send anti-missile and anti-drone systems to Cyprus after a British air base ​on the island was attacked by drones, the semi-official Cyprus News ‌Agency (CNA) said on Tuesday.

France would send anti-missile and anti-drone systems, as well as a frigate, CNA reported. It said French President Emmanuel Macron communicated the intention to Cypriot President Nikos ​Christodoulides early on Tuesday.

Make sense of the latest ESG trends affecting companies and governments with the Reuters Sustainable Switch newsletter. Sign up here.

A Cypriot government source, speaking on condition of anonymity, ​confirmed the report. The French defence ministry did not immediately respond ⁠to a request for comment.

The reported French aid to the island follows ​Greece’s offer of assistance hours after RAF Akrotiri, a British sovereign base, was targeted ​in two separate drone incidents on Monday.

In the first instance an Iranian-made Shahed drone crashed into the runway of the base, causing limited damage. Hours later two other drones were intercepted.

Senior Cypriot ​officials say the attack was carried out by an Iranian Shahed drone most ​likely fired by Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah from Lebanon. The officials have stressed that the ‌base - ⁠considered sovereign British territory - rather than Cyprus, was the target.

Britain said on Sunday that it had accepted a U.S. request to use its military bases for “defensive” strikes against Iran, a day after the launch of a U.S. and Israeli military campaign against ​Iran, which triggered ​Iranian retaliation. British ⁠Prime Minister Keir Starmer later said Britain’s bases on Cyprus were not being used by U.S. bombers.

Cyprus has asked Britain that ​the bases only be used for humanitarian purposes.

Greece on Monday ​dispatched four ⁠F-16 fighter jets to the island. Two frigates, one equipped with its anti-drone Centauros jamming system, were also sailing to Cyprus.

Centauros, which has been successfully deployed against Houthi ⁠rebels ​attacking shipping lanes off Yemen, has the capability ​of detecting and incapacitating low-flying drones, such as the one which crashed into RAF Akrotiri and evaded ​radars, Cypriot defence sources said.

Writing by Michele Kambas; Editing by David Goodman, Aidan Lewis

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

• Suggested Topics:
• Aerospace & Defense

Share

• X

• Facebook

• Linkedin

• Email

• Link

Purchase Licensing Rights