JRCC carried out rescue exercise with Greek frigates
Cyprus’ Joint Rescue and Coordination Centre (JRCC) took part in an exercise with the Greek military frigates Kimon and Psara within the naval territory of Cyprus on Tuesday.
“This exercise, coordinated by the Larnaca search and rescue coordination centre in cooperation with the general staff of national defence of Greece, falls within the framework of the existing Intergovernmental search and rescue agreement between Cyprus and Greece,” JRCC said.
The exercise also involved a helicopter from the national guard’s search and rescue squadron, a helicopter from the police air operations unit, as well as paramedics from the air ambulance service MEDEVAC.
The two frigates Kimon and Psara had been sent by Greece in early March to support Cyprus in view of the ongoing tensions in the Middle East and after a drone hit the Akrotiri British Base.
Both frigates had previously patrolled the Republic’s maritime area from the port of Limassol.
The frigates are equipped with the Kentavros combat system, designed to detect and neutralise drone threats, which had previously been used to intercept drones launched by the Iran-backed Houthi movement in the Red Sea in 2024.
The system has since been integrated with Israel’s Barak MX air defence system, acquired by Cyprus in 2025.
In addition to the frigates, four F-16 fighter jets were stationed at the Andreas Papandreou airbase in Paphos.