Ever since Israel’s shocking attack on Qatar, a major non-NATO US ally, many nations in the region sheltering or supporting Hamas are getting apprehensive.
According to analysts, Turkey fears it could be next on Israel’s target, as it has not only hosted Hamas leadership at least since 2011, but also provided them with diplomatic, financial, and operational support. They are also at odds with each other in Syria.
However, as Turkey puts its forces on high alert and steps up air patrols over its territory to fend off any possible Israeli adventure, Tel Aviv has opened a new front against Ankara.
Amid heightened tensions in the region, Israel quietly delivered advanced air defense systems to Cyprus last week, marking the second shipment since December 2024.
The Barak MX system, an aerial interceptor capable of striking threats up to 150km away, was delivered to Cyprus through the port of Limassol. The Cypriot news site Reporter confirmed that the Barak MX system has now been fully delivered and is expected to become operational this year.
The Greek City Times reported that the shipment arrived at Limassol port and is slated for deployment around the Andreas Papandreou Air Base in Paphos.
While there is no official confirmation from either Israel or Cyprus, a video has become viral on social media, purportedly showing the delivery of the Barak MX system at the Limassol port.
Earlier in December 2024, Reuters reported that Cyprus had received delivery of the Israeli Barak MX air defense system.
Notably, even at that time, there was no official confirmation; however, multiple local media reports confirmed the delivery, citing highly-placed official sources in the Cypriot government.
“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,” Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides had said at that time.
Cyprus was divided into two parts after the Turkish invasion in 1974, following a brief Greek-inspired coup. Since then, the internationally recognised Cypriot government has controlled the south, while a heavily militarised north is called the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), recognized only by Turkey.
The Barak MX Air Defense System
The Barak MX, introduced by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) in 2018, is a modular air defense system capable of engaging multiple simultaneous threats, including fighter jets, helicopters, UAVs, cruise missiles, and surface-to-surface missiles.
The system features four missile variants: 15 km (short range), 35 km (medium range), 70 km (long range), and 150 km (extended range), offering a multi-layered air defense network through a single system.
Incidentally, the shortest distance between Cyprus and Turkey is around 85 km.
It is equipped with active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars developed by ELTA Systems, a subsidiary of IAI, such as ELM 2138 MMR and ELM-2084 Multi-Mission Radar (MMR), which are capable of mobile operations and tracking multiple targets simultaneously.
ELTA’s MMR is a 3D multi-beam AESA radar system with gallium nitride technology.
Each launcher is capable of deploying eight missiles. The MRAD and LRAD missiles can reach up to an altitude of 20km, while ER missiles can reach 30km with 50g manoeuvrability. A data link enables communication between the BMC (battle management centre) and the missiles.
Furthermore, the system is fully mobile and can be transported on trucks, making it difficult to detect.
While the interceptors are capable of engaging threats up to 150km away, their radar provides extended surveillance across a range of 460km. This 460 km range offers a “surveillance umbrella,” capable of looking deep inside Turkish airspace.
Effectively, through the Barak MX AD system, Israel can now monitor Turkish airspace and get real-time updates on Turkish activity.
Israel Warns TRNC
Incidentally, the delivery of the Barak MX AD system to Cyprus was preceded by a provocative article by Shay Gal, a former vice president of external relations at Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), which manufactures the Barak MX, that Israel should reconsider its approach toward Cyprus and devise military plans to “liberate” the island’s north from Turkish forces.
“Israel, in coordination with Greece and Cyprus, must prepare a contingency operation for liberating the island’s north,” Gal wrote.
“Such an operation would neutralise Turkish reinforcement capabilities from the mainland, eliminate air-defence systems in northern Cyprus, destroy intelligence and command centres, and ultimately remove Turkish forces, restoring internationally recognised Cypriot sovereignty.”
Furthermore, Gal suggested that NATO will not invoke Article 5, the clause ensuring mutual defense, if Israel attacks the TRNC. The mutual defense clause under NATO’s Article 5 is not automatic, and the response of member states can vary from diplomatic protests, economic sanctions, to a military response.
Understandably, the article kicked up a storm in Turkey.
Writing in the Turkish Newspaper Daily Sabah, Hüseyin Işıksal, talked about an emerging “unholy alliance” between Greeks, Jews, and Cypriots.
He suggested that the island of Cyprus is critical to Israel’s ambitions of becoming a regional hegemon, and many Jews believe that the island is part of the “promised land” and an inalienable part of “Greater Israel“.
He complained that earlier this year, in February, the Greek Cypriot administration handed over security for Larnaca and Paphos airports to Israeli intelligence.
“One other main objective of the Israel-Greek Cypriot alliance is to deny the recognition and visibility of the TRNC, thereby ignoring the rights of the Turkish Cypriot people to the island’s natural resources.”
Işıksal suggested that the members of the Organization of the Turkic States and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) should recognize the TRNC at the earliest to thwart Israeli ambitions in Cyprus.
Turkey Nervous About Barak MX In Cyprus?
Ever since Turkey militarily occupied Northern Cyprus in 1974, Ankara has always been sensitive about foreign weapons deployment on the island.
In 1997, Turkey almost went to war with Cyprus over the question of Russia supplying its S-300 air defense system to Cyprus.
To intimidate Cyprus, Turkish F-16s started violating Cyprus’s airspace on a daily basis. In fact, during a military drill in Northern Cyprus in November 1997, the Turkish armed forces destroyed S-300 mock missiles to get ready to launch operations against the actual missiles in Cyprus.
Finally, the situation, known as the “Cypriot S-300 Crisis,” was diffused when Cyprus agreed to divert the S-300 AD system it had already paid for to Greece.
Last year, there were reports that Greece, a NATO member, would transfer the S-300 system to Ukraine. However, that transfer has not materialized yet after Russia protested that the transfer would violate the end-user agreement for the AD system.
Now, amid the raging war in the Middle East, Israel has quietly transferred the Barak MX AD system to Cyprus.
Incidentally, Turkey is labelling the Barak MX system as “much more dangerous” than the S-300.
“This is a system far more dangerous than the S-300, which [southern Cyprus] ordered from Russia in 1997 but never deployed,” said Arda Mevlutoglu, a prominent Turkish defense analyst.
“Given the current state of military ties between Israel and the Greek Cypriot administration, this powerful air defense system and radar will undoubtedly become a central element of Israel’s intelligence network in the eastern Mediterranean.”
According to Mevlutoglu, the Barak MX poses a significant threat to Turkish air and ground forces both in Cyprus and across the wider eastern Mediterranean, as its radar is also capable of detecting artillery, mortar, and rocket battery fire within 100km.
However, despite Turkish protests, the Barak MX system will become operational in Cyprus in the coming months.
Clearly, Israel has opened a new front against Turkey in Cyprus.
After the clash of interests in Syria, the issue of Turkish support for Hamas, now Israel and Turkey, the two regional powers in the Mediterranean, have another thorny issue between them.
