The GEEF does not seem to be satisfied with the condition of the Greek Leopard 1A5 tanks, which were put on the table as a possible solution to strengthen the National Guard's tank fleet. According to information from filenews, a team from Cyprus went to Greece and closely examined the vehicles that Athens was willing to grant.
From the on-site inspection, according to the same information, it was found that the specific tanks cannot serve the needs of the National Guard, nor as an intermediate solution.
As Filenews had noted in a previous report, a possible agreement between Athens and Nicosia could only be reached if the tanks in question were deemed operationally suitable to fill the gaps left by the obsolete fleet of 126 EE-9 Cascavel wheeled vehicles, which were received by the National Guard in 1980.
Under these circumstances, there is no agreement between Cyprus and Greece for the concession of Leopard 1A5s, despite what is broadcast by Greek websites.
Nevertheless, the efforts of the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff to strengthen the National Guard's tank fleet continue, with the Israeli Merkava remaining high on the list of priorities.
However, it is estimated that Israeli operations in southern Lebanon and the IDF's extensive use of tanks have, so far, frozen any developments.
