Filenews 22 November 2025 - by Andreas Pogiatzis
Last week, in the context of an international conference on Defense, Technology and the National Guard held in Nicosia, representatives of the Israeli company Rafael presented a proposal for the complete upgrade of the BMP-3 armoured vehicles, which are also available to the National Guard. It is noted that the proposal of the Israelis did not concern the Cypriot vehicles and was made in the context of the presentation of the company's capabilities but also and their philosophy for the new data of the modern field.
The central element of the proposal to upgrade Soviet-made vehicles was the removal of the entire 100 mm turret, the installation of a remote-controlled weapons station with a 30 mm automatic cannon and Israeli SPIKE anti-tank missiles, which are produced by the Israeli company and were recently supplied by the National Guard.
This is an upgrade that significantly modernizes the vehicles, which were built with other specifications in 1987. It is worth noting that the National Guard has 43 BMP-3s, which were procured in the mid-90's for the28th Armoured Combat Vehicle Squadron (ETOMA). Their purchase amounted to $68 million.
Filenews sources from the Army state that the proposal is not being examined by the GEEF, although this cannot be ruled out at a later stage. The strong bilateral relations of the Republic of Cyprus with Israel, as well as the arms transactions in the recent past, leave the window open.
It is recalled that Cyprus was in talks with Israel to consider a proposal to purchase Israeli Merkava tanks, however, the events after October 7, 2023 and the war that intervened froze the negotiations.
Concern about Russian National Guard systems
The Russian-made weapon systems that are in the arsenal of the National Guard are causing a headache to the NGS and the Ministry of Defense, both in terms of their maintenance and the supply of spare parts and ammunition.
In the previous period, the discussion focused around the T-80 tanks, however, the Russian BMP-3 armoured fighting vehicle also enters the equation, as it is a key element of the operational capability of the XX Armoured Brigade. As mentioned many times in the past, Cyprus can no longer safely count on Russian weapons systems for a number of interrelated reasons, which concern both operational and geopolitical parameters.
Due to bans on transactions with Russian defense companies, supplies of spare parts have been frozen, while logistical support from Moscow is described as difficult or even impossible. The same problem is encountered in the supply of ammunition, as Western ammunition is not compatible with Soviet systems.
Given these facts, the Russian systems create the phenomenon of non-uniformity as in the case of the BMP-3, it is the only vehicle of the National Guard that uses 100 mm ammunition. The declared intention of the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff is to apply the uniformity especially to ammunition, in order to facilitate the logistical support of the National Guard.
