Akrotiri, Cyprus. The activation of operation wideawake at RAF Akrotiri on Wednesday morning was a test and not an actual security incident, British bases spokeswoman Korina Orphanides said. She said the protocol was tested as part of routine precautionary measures.
Routine security test
Orphanides said security protocols are regularly tested and that the procedure was carried out at RAF Akrotiri on Wednesday morning.
Earlier, bases personnel had been informed that operation wideawake had been initiated. They were ordered to check their working areas for suspicious items and report anything suspicious to the local emergency services and the British bases’ grounds operations team.
Personnel were also told that while the operation was in force, there was to be no movement around the station.
Protocol use and recent context
Operation wideawake is typically activated when senior officers on a base believe it may have been breached by terrorists.
Its most notable recent real-world activation came in October last year, when the Larkhill Royal Artillery barracks in England was broken into by thieves who stole fuel from a tanker.
Heightened scrutiny over Cyprus bases
The drill took place amid heightened scrutiny over the British bases in Cyprus. Akrotiri was hit by an Iranian-made drone in March, and the bases have been used as the launchpad for operations in the Middle East in which British aircraft engaged and shot down drones launched by Iran during its conflict with the United States and Israel.
Following the strike on the Cyprus base, outgoing British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer sought to clarify that British bases in Cyprus are not being used by US bombers, though it is believed the drone had been aimed at a hangar housing American Lockheed U-2 reconnaissance aircraft.
Those aircraft are known to fly reconnaissance missions over the Middle East from Akrotiri as part of Operation Olive Harvest.
Before the outbreak of the conflict in the Middle East, the Daily Telegraph reported that Russian spies may have bought a number of houses near the Akrotiri base, raising fears the properties were being used in efforts to monitor its operations and compromise it.