Israeli Air Defense Probably Won’t Spark Another Cyprus Missile Crisis
The post Israeli Air Defense Probably Won’t Spark Another Cyprus Missile Crisis appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. A Barak ER (extended range) missile during a March 2021 trial in Israel. Photo by IAI. Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) Despite taking delivery of its new Barak MX air defense missile systems from Israel discreetly, quite literally under the cover of night, the Republic of Cyprus has nevertheless received warnings from Turkey. The acquisition is the most significant Nicosia has received since ordering S-300 missile systems from Russia in January 1997, which triggered a tense crisis with Turkey. Despite some parallels with that historical episode, Cyprus’s latest acquisition is less likely to see that history repeat itself. After footage emerged of a Barak MX system being transported at night on the streets of Cyprus’s Limassol, Turkish defense officials and politicians voiced strong criticism. Officials from the Turkish defense ministry claimed it could destabilize the partitioned island, where Turkey has approximately 35,000 troops garrisoned in the separatist, internationally unrecognized Turkish Republic of North Cyprus, and have “dangerous consequences.” Others directly referenced the 1997-1998 crisis. For example, Yanki Bagcioglu, deputy chairman of the Republican People’s Party, charged that the Barak MX represents “a more dangerous system than the S-300, and it is likely that it also has the capability to share data with Israel through an advanced surveillance system.” Turkish analyst Arda Mevlutoglu echoed Bagcioglu, dubbing the new Cypriot system “much more dangerous than the S-300” since it can detect launches of mortars and rockets from 100 kilometers (62 miles) away. The Israeli system has an official range of 93 miles and can intercept a range of threats from drones to tactical ballistic missiles. The range is comparable to the S-300 PMU-1 Cyprus ordered in 1997. Back then, Turkish officials dismissed Nicosia’s stance that the missiles were purely defensive since their range theoretically enabled Cyprus to fire missiles into Turkish airspace. During…
The post Israeli Air Defense Probably Won’t Spark Another Cyprus Missile Crisis appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.
A Barak ER (extended range) missile during a March 2021 trial in Israel. Photo by IAI. Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) Despite taking delivery of its new Barak MX air defense missile systems from Israel discreetly, quite literally under the cover of night, the Republic of Cyprus has nevertheless received warnings from Turkey. The acquisition is the most significant Nicosia has received since ordering S-300 missile systems from Russia in January 1997, which triggered a tense crisis with Turkey. Despite some parallels with that historical episode, Cyprus’s latest acquisition is less likely to see that history repeat itself. After footage emerged of a Barak MX system being transported at night on the streets of Cyprus’s Limassol, Turkish defense officials and politicians voiced strong criticism. Officials from the Turkish defense ministry claimed it could destabilize the partitioned island, where Turkey has approximately 35,000 troops garrisoned in the separatist, internationally unrecognized Turkish Republic of North Cyprus, and have “dangerous consequences.” Others directly referenced the 1997-1998 crisis. For example, Yanki Bagcioglu, deputy chairman of the Republican People’s Party, charged that the Barak MX represents “a more dangerous system than the S-300, and it is likely that it also has the capability to share data with Israel through an advanced surveillance system.” Turkish analyst Arda Mevlutoglu echoed Bagcioglu, dubbing the new Cypriot system “much more dangerous than the S-300” since it can detect launches of mortars and rockets from 100 kilometers (62 miles) away. The Israeli system has an official range of 93 miles and can intercept a range of threats from drones to tactical ballistic missiles. The range is comparable to the S-300 PMU-1 Cyprus ordered in 1997. Back then, Turkish officials dismissed Nicosia’s stance that the missiles were purely defensive since their range theoretically enabled Cyprus to fire missiles into Turkish airspace. During…
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