TSAMTO, June 24. The Ministry of Defense of Cyprus intends to purchase six armed H-145M helicopters from Airbus Helicopters to replace 11 Mi-35P attack helicopters decommissioned by the Cyprus Air Force at the end of 2021.
According to the Cypriot media, a closed session of the parliament was held on June 20, during which a decision was approved to allocate 53 million euros as an advance payment for the supply of helicopters. It is expected that the contract with Airbus Helicopters will be signed in the coming days. The total cost of helicopters, including weapons (guns, guided and unguided missiles), will be about 140 million euros, which will be paid in stages until 2026.
The 10-year plan provides for the purchase of a total of 12 armed helicopters for the Cyprus National Guard in two stages (6+6 H-145M). It is assumed that the first contract for the supply of 6 helicopters will contain an option for the supply of 6 more machines.
The Minister of Defense of Cyprus Andreas P. Luka, representatives of the General Staff and the Ministry of Defense of Cyprus got acquainted with the features of the H-145M during the international exhibition "Eurosatori-2022", which was held from June 13 to 17 in Paris.
Russian Mi-35P helicopters (11 units) after the start of deliveries of H-145M, the Ministry of Defense of Cyprus intends to sell the Serbian Armed Forces.
The purchase of the H-145M complies with the provisions of the bilateral defense cooperation program for 2022/23 signed on June 9 between the National Guard of Cyprus and the French Armed Forces, which includes, among other things, joint exercises both in France and Cyprus. Earlier, in August 2020, with the ratification by the Parliament of Cyprus, the agreement on military cooperation between Cyprus and France came into force.
As reported by TSAMTO, Cyprus acquired 12 Mi-35P helicopters in 2001. One of them crashed in 2006. According to available information, the helicopters have been repaired twice in Russia, are currently serviceable, but require continued maintenance. The Cypriot authorities decided to remove the Mi-35P from service and put it up for sale in early 2021. The main reasons for this step were problems with the supply of spare parts and maintenance of helicopters, which were aggravated by EU sanctions, non-compliance of technical characteristics with modern requirements, including the possibility of use at night. In reality, the National Guard was not fully engaged in the maintenance and modernization of equipment, and the Cypriot authorities were under external pressure due to the presence of Russian weapons, which the "good" American and European allies have recently offered to transfer to Ukraine. The Ministry of Defense of Cyprus has yet to find a way to maintain combat readiness of the armed BMP-3, T-80 tanks, as well as the Tor-M1 and Buk-M1-2 air defense systems.
In April 2021, the technical condition of the Cypriot Mi-35P was assessed by a delegation of the Serbian Ministry of Defense. In May of the same year, the Serbian Ministry of Defense sent a letter of interest in buying 11 helicopters and requested a commercial offer for their sale. Presumably, the cost of 11 Mi-35P helicopters is estimated at 150-300 million euros.
