According to the announcement of the Hellenic National Guard General Staff, the air defence exercise “ONISILOS – GEDEON 2/2021”took place on Tuesday, November 23, 2021, at the Nicosia FIR, which is part of the Annual Program of Military Cooperation between the Republic of Cyprus and Israel.
The exercise was conducted and coordinated by the Air Force Command of the Hellenic National Guard General Staff in cooperation with the Israeli Air Force, which was responsible for planning and executing the exercise.
In the exercise “ONISILOS – GEDEON” almost the whole of Cyprus and the Nicosia FIR were included, resulting in the activation of the entire air defense “umbrella” of the Cyprus National Guard.
The exercise was intended to improve the combat capability of personnel and the level of standardization in conducting operations through the acquisition of experience from cooperation with the Israeli Air Force.
Among the scenarios of the exercise “ONISILOS – GEDEON “ were flights of Israeli fighter planes that carried out simulated missile attacks on specific targets from low and high altitudes, protected by Cypriot air defense forces that had been deployed in the framework of the exercise.
Photo by Army.gov.cy (ΓΕΕΦ) 
Photo by Army.gov.cy (ΓΕΕΦ) 
Photo by Army.gov.cy (ΓΕΕΦ)
This exercise, in addition to providing National Guard personnel with valuable additional experience, also contributes significantly to improving the operational capabilities of the National Guard’s air defense system, especially when the weapon systems are fully manned and are in an environment similar to that of a modern theatre of operations.
Moreover, “the implementation of similar exercises in conjunction with the implementation of the Defence Cooperation Programme between Cyprus and Israel demonstrates the excellent cooperation that exists between the armed forces of the two nations.” concludes the announcement of the National Guard for the exercise ” ONISILOS – GEDEON “
GEOPOLITIKI.COM with information from the announcement of the Cypriot National Guard General Staff
