Cyprus joins Medusa military exercise off Crete

Chania, Greece. Cyprus took part in the multinational Medusa military exercise, which concluded on Friday off the coast of Crete after nine days involving forces from Greece, Egypt, France and Italy.

Cypriot contribution

According to a National Guard statement, Cyprus deployed the navy patrol vessel Commodore Andreas Ioannides, an AW-139 helicopter from its air force and a special operations team.

Final phase

The exercise’s final phase was monitored at sea aboard the Greek frigate Psara by National Guard Chief Lieutenant General Emmanuel Theodorou, Hellenic National Defence General Staff Chief General Dimitrios Choupis, and Chief of the Egyptian Armed Forces Lieutenant General Ahmed Fathy Ibrahim Khalifa.

Exercise scenarios

The exercise began last Thursday and was centred off the coast of Chania, with activities extending across the Myrtoan Sea in the Aegean and waters south of Karpathos.

Scenarios included reconnaissance operations, a combined amphibious landing and simulated air strikes involving attack helicopters and fighter aircraft.

Naval assets deployed included frigates, missile boats, corvettes, submarines, landing craft and a helicopter carrier.

Counter-drone focus

Particular emphasis this year was placed on countering simultaneous drone swarm attacks. The Greek-made Centaur anti-drone system featured prominently in scenarios designed to neutralise unmanned aerial threats.

Choupis said cooperation between Greece, Egypt and Cyprus in the Levant remained a strategic priority.

“Our cooperation with Egypt and Cyprus is stable, constantly expanding, and for us this strategic stake is a top priority for the Armed Forces of the two countries, in combination with Cyprus,” he said.