The Cypriot government has opened a tender process for the purchase of its own firefighting aircraft, starting with three aircraft in the first phase 3 aircraft with an option for up to 5 more, all funded by their Recovery and Resilience Plan.

Andreas Grigoriou, Director General of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development, and Environment said “The tender is part of the broader objective to acquire a total of 10 proprietary aerial firefighting assets within the next five years, with an option to purchase an additional five aircraft. This is all part of a comprehensive plan to enhance the surveillance system for forested areas, the early detection of fires, and the transmission of images to Operational Centers.”

Cyprus is also expanding its ground equipment with the addition of new all-terrain firefighting vehicles with the capability of carrying two tons of water, water tankers and engineering machinery. The forestry monitoring surveillance system is being modernized to help detect and attack fires earlier.