Aerostar Tactical unmanned aerial vehicles
Aerostar Tactical unmanned aerial vehicle
The Cypriot Ministry of Defence has purchased four Israeli drones for €12-million in order to monitor the activities of Turkish drillships operating in the island's waters in the first military acquisition of its kind for Cyprus. The move comes amid increasing tension over Turkey's exploratory drilling in the Cyprus' territorial waters.
The Aerostar Tactical unmanned aerial vehicles (TUAS) are made by the Israeli firm Aeronautics Ltd. The company declined to comment on the deal, however its website claims that the drone is one of the most cost-effective and efficient of its class.
The website states: “It has logged over 250,000 operational flight hours flying missions worldwide (operational in 4 continents). The performance and reliability of this combat-proven system are unprecedented in the UAS industry.”
The drones will also assist authorities in Cyprus in fire prevention during summer months, as well as in search and rescue missions inside the island's waters.
The drones have a wingspan of 8.7 metres, length 4.5 m, height 1.2 m, with maximum endurance up to 12 hours and a maximum speed of 110 knots (203 km/h).
Yavuz
Turkey sent a second drillship, Yaduz, to Cypriot waters in July
Cyprus has accused Turkey of causing a "severe escalation" of violation on its sovereign rights and of standing in defiance to the European Union by sending another drillship to search for island and gas inside its waters.
Turkey has already drilled both to the island's east and west.
Politicians in Nicosia have said that the Turkish drillship is operating inside block 7 of its maritime territory - an area that has already been licensed to France's Total and Italy's Eni in a deal signed last month.
Turkey has said that a western section of Cyprus' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is part of its continental shelf and that no drilling should take place until reunification has taken place on the island and resources can be amicably shared.
On Tuesday, Turkey's Energy Minister Fatih Donmez said that preparations were complete and drilling was to commence later that day.
Washington has told Turkey not to engage in "illegal drilling" in Cypriot territorial waters.
During a visit to Greece at the weekend, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said: "We've told the Turks that illegal drilling is unacceptable and we'll continue to take diplomatic actions to... ensure that lawful activity takes place."
Earlier today, a joint statement was released by the leaders of Cyprus, Greece and Egypt expressing "grave concern" over the escalation in the region. The statement released after Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades met Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo urges Turkey to "terminate its provocative actions” and to contribute “constructively and in concrete terms for the resumption of result-oriented”.
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