Israeli air defence equipment spotted rolling into Cyprus in the dead of night

Israel air defence equipment has been spotted rolling into Cyprus in the dead of night. Sharp-eyed locals posted footage of a convoy carrying half-concealed trucks which appear to be the mobile variant of the Barak MX air defence system.

Genocide-Free Cyprus (CFC) also reported that an Israeli transport plane landed at a local airport last night:

🚨BREAKING: Video shows military equipment likely moved from Limassol port, believed to be an ‘Israeli’ aerial defence system purchased by Cyprus.

Simultaneously, an ‘Israeli’ military transport plane landed at Larnaca Airport last night, vanishing from radar for nearly 4 hrs. pic.twitter.com/FBXE5bklfM

— Genocide-Free Cyprus (@genocidefree_cy) September 11, 2025

Genocide allies: Israel and Cyprus

Cyprus-Israel military relations have deepened since 7 October 2023. Reuters originally reported that Israeli air defence systems were delivered to Cyprus in December 2024 “as the east Mediterranean island taps new markets to upgrade its defence capabilities after the loss of key supplier Russia”.

Cyprus was criticised at the time for buying buying military equipment from Israel after backing sanctions against the apartheid state:

On September 18, Cyprus voted in favour of the historic UN General Assembly Resolution demanding sanctions and a military embargo on apartheid Israel. Now it must cancel its shameful deal to buy Israeli MX Barak missiles. pic.twitter.com/9zEvWeZxfL

— BDS movement (@BDSmovement) December 13, 2024

Bolstering deterrence

Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides told reporters at the time:

The only thing I can say is we will, and are doing everything necessary to bolster the deterrence force of Cyprus, not only because we are a country under occupation, but an EU member state in a region of particular geo-strategic importance.

On 10 September, CFC criticised the president for his part in militarising the island with the help of the European Union (EU):

Cyprus is keen to militarise the island, which is only bound to happen as @Christodulides' "dear friend" war criminal Netayahu continues spreading terror in the region.

The warmongering EU is more than happen to spend billions more to boost the military industrial complex. pic.twitter.com/wCCT08Jsjx

— Genocide-Free Cyprus (@genocidefree_cy) September 10, 2025

CFC also reported that the Israeli aircraft, which had been circling Gaza before reaching Cyprus, was capable of deploying small drones:

❗️This 'Israeli' aircraft was circling close to Gaza and passed by the region when Yaffa Mosque in Deir Al-Balah was targeted by a drone.

While not designed to deploy drones, small UAVs can fly out of the ramp of the plane.

Later in the day it travelled to Larnaca in Cyprus. https://t.co/LhSbzZH4gN pic.twitter.com/pMv76iPI3m

— Genocide-Free Cyprus (@genocidefree_cy) September 11, 2025

Deepening security cooperation between Israel and Cyprus

In December 2024, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) wrote:

Since the 7 October Hamas-led attacks, Cyprus has intensified its already deepening security and intelligence cooperation with Tel Aviv. Furthermore, it became a safe haven for thousands of Israelis who sought temporary refuge from the conflict on the island.

The UK maintains a permanent military presence in Cyprus, a former colony. RAF Akrotiri has been a hub for UK and US military support for Israel.

Independent journalist Matt Kennard reported that a US military cargo plane flew from Turkey to Akrotiri Thursday:

This morning, a US military C-130J Hercules plane flew from Turkish base Incirlik to RAF Akrotiri on Cyprus

The C-130J can carry a payload of up to 47,000 lbs

It is known that the US is using RAF Akrotiri to move weapons to Israel pic.twitter.com/7PtXdQmDDe

— Matt Kennard (@kennardmatt) September 11, 2025

The Barak air defence system was developed jointly between Israel and Australia. Colombia and Morocco have also bought the system.

Featured image via the Canary