The Cypriot government signed an order for a new, Israeli-designed offshore patrol vessel (OPV) on 26 October 2026, in addition to an upgrade of its existing Israeli-made OPV Commodore Andreas Ioannides (P61) to take place in parallel with the new acquisition.
The new OPV will be built by Israel Shipyards and is to feature equipment from Israeli defence company Rafael. A model presented at the signing ceremony appeared to show a Typhoon stabilised remote weapon station, in addition to a containerised C-Dome vertical launch air defence system mounted on the aft deck and a Spike N-LOS launcher behind the vessel’s mast. In line with the existing OPV in service, the new vessel will be an Israel Shipyard OPV 62 m, which is based on the Israeli Sa’ar 4.5 fast attack craft – missile.
The Cypriot Naval Command’s Commodore Andreas Ioannides was launched in 2017 and entered service in 2018. The vessel has a displacement of 430 tonnes, can reach a maximum speed of 32 kts and has a complement of up to 30 crewmembers.
The Cypriot OPV fleet
The addition of the second OPV to the Cypriot Naval Command will extend the country’s maritime surveillance and enforcement capabilities, which are facing growing needs as the country expands its offshore energy extraction industry. The Cypriot government had announced in 2017 that it was to acquire two additional OPVs, following the acquisition of the Commodore Andreas Ioannides and the donation of a vessel from Oman in January of that year. No further major acquisitions since 2017 have been noted.
The potential fitting of the vessels with the C-Dome air defence system will significantly bolster Cyprus’ air defence capabilities, which have been tested over the past year by Iranian targeting of the UK’s air base at Akrotiri. Based on Rafael’s Iron Dome air defence system, the C-Dome is in service with the Israeli Navy.
The acquisition and expansion of the Cypriot OPV fleet from an Israeli source comes as Israel is working to secure its interests in the Eastern Mediterranean and follows on from the country’s Achilles Shield air defence deal with Greece in August. Ongoing competition with Turkey, particularly in the offshore energy sector, is driving Israeli foreign policy in the region, with defence and security links helping to cement regional relationships.
Due to the long-running division of the island between the Republic of Cyprus and Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, suppliers to Greek Cyprus have been limited to those nations who do not want to risk jeopardising their relations with NATO ally Turkey. As a result, Cyprus’ military inventories have come from a range of sources, such as Austria, Serbia, Russia and pre-NATO Slovakia.
The United States reduced its arms embargo and export restrictions against Cyprus in 2022. However, this is subject to an annual review of the waiver, making the long-lead supply of US equipment commercially challenging for both Cyprus and US suppliers.
