TSAMTO, October 29. The Israeli Ministry of Defense announced the signing of an agreement with the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Cyprus on October 26 on the supply of a new patrol ship manufactured by Israel Shipyards.
The preparation of the deal was supervised by the Office of International Military Cooperation of the Israeli Ministry of Defense (SIBAT) and the Office of Armaments and Defense Development of the Ministry of Defense of Cyprus. The agreement was signed by the Director General of the Ministry of Defense of Israel, Major General (retired) Amir Baram and the Acting Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defense of Cyprus, Stelios Kountouris.
Under the terms of the agreement, Israel will supply Cyprus with a new patrol ship manufactured by Israel Shipyards, equipped with a number of Rafael weapons systems.
In addition, the equipment of the patrol ship (P61) Commodore Andreas Ioannides, which was built by Israel Shipyards earlier, will be upgraded.
The new patrol ship, along with the Commodore Andreas Ioannides modernization (P61), will expand the capabilities of patrolling, reconnaissance and surveillance, as well as conducting search and rescue operations. The statement did not specify the Rafael systems that will be installed on board the new ship, nor did it disclose which systems will be upgraded aboard the Commodore Andreas Ioannides.
As reported by CAMTO, the contract for the construction of two OPV-62 (Sa'ar-62) patrol ships for the Cyprus Navy was signed in 2013 as part of a bilateral intergovernmental agreement. Its cost was estimated at 100 million euros. However, the agreement was not approved by the Cypriot parliament due to the austerity regime. In December 2015, a contract was signed with Israel Shipyards providing for the construction of up to 4 patrol ships for the Cyprus Navy.
According to media reports in Cyprus, the cost of building the Commodore Andreas Ioannides was 44 million euros. The launching ceremony of the P61 took place on September 12, 2017 at the company in Haifa. The ship arrived in Larnaca on January 2, 2018 and officially joined the Cyprus Navy on January 15, 2018.
As reported, Commodore Andreas Ioannides is designed to protect the exclusive economic zone of Cyprus, the Aphrodite gas field, and ensure maritime security and law enforcement.
At the moment, the exact status of the contract is unknown. Presumably, the Cypriot authorities still intend to build a total of up to 4 patrol ships.
The Commodore Andreas Ioannides, built on the basis of the Sa'ar 4.5 project, is 61.8 m long, 7.62 m wide, has a total displacement of 430 tons, and a crew of 30 people. The vessel can reach a maximum speed of 32 knots, a range of 5,000 nautical miles at a speed of 13 knots. An MTR unit may be located on board. The armament includes two 23-mm Rafael Typhoon airborne assault rifles, integrated TopLite electro-optical sights.
According to media reports, the ship's design provides for equipping the Typhoon MLS-NLOS missile system from Rafael with eight Spike-NLOS missiles, which can hit targets at ranges up to 25 km.
The characteristics of the second patrol ship ordered by Cyprus have not yet been disclosed, but judging by the mock-up shown at the ceremony, it will be built according to the same design and adapted to the modern requirements of the Cypriot Navy.
