Greece deploys warships, jets to Cyprus after drone strikes on UK air base Akrotiri

BERLIN — Greece has dispatched two frigates and four F-16 fighter jets to Cyprus following a drone strike on RAF Akrotiri, the British military’s main hub for Middle East aerial operations, as the Iran conflict threatens to spill into the Eastern Mediterranean.

A Shahed-type unmanned aerial vehicle reportedly struck the British base’s runway a few minutes past midnight on March 2, causing what the U.K. Ministry of Defence described as “minimal damage” with no reported casualties. Two additional drones targeting the base were intercepted on March 2, according to Cypriot authorities.

The strike is widely believed to have been carried out by Iran or Iranian-backed proxies in retaliation for U.S. operations conducted from British bases in Cyprus in support of the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran. In state media, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has also threatened to strike Cyprus with ballistic missiles.

Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias announced the deployment of the FDI HN frigate Kimon − described as the most advanced vessel in the Hellenic Navy and the only one capable of providing long-range air defense − alongside a second frigate, identified in regional media as the Psara, which is equipped with Greece’s domestically developed Centaur counter-drone system and can detect UAVs at ranges up to 150 kilometers. Four F-16s have since landed in Cyprus, Cypriot government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis confirmed on X, formerly Twitter.

The Greek government had previously announced that a “pair” of F-16s was sent to Cyprus.

Greece's new French-built frigate "Kimon" is moored at the Salamina naval station near Athens, on Jan. 29, 2026. (Angelos Tzortzinis / AFP via Getty Images)

Reporting by Cypriot media also said a Greek C-130 Hercules transport plane had arrived on the eastern Mediterranean island by Monday evening.

Greece and Cyprus have long maintained close ties, including in the military space. Athens has served as a protective power for Cyprus since the end of Turkey’s military intervention that led to the island’s partition. Dendias, who traveled to Cyprus to coordinate directly with Cypriot Defense Minister Vasilis Palmas, said Greece would support Cyprus “in every possible way” throughout the crisis.

Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, meanwhile, maintained that his country “does not participate in any way and does not intend to be part of any military operation.”

In addition to Greece, the U.K. appears to be set to send one of its own warships capable of intercepting ballistic missiles to the region, The Times of London reported.

British and Turkish government officials officials did not respond to a request for comment in time for the publication of this article.

Linus Höller is Defense News' Europe correspondent and OSINT investigator. He reports on the arms deals, sanctions, and geopolitics shaping Europe and the world. He holds master’s degrees in WMD nonproliferation, terrorism studies, and international relations, and works in four languages: English, German, Russian, and Spanish.

柏林——在无人机袭击英国皇家空军阿克罗蒂里基地（英国军方在中东的主要空中行动中心）后，希腊向塞浦路斯派遣了两艘护卫舰和四架F-16战斗机，伊朗冲突有可能蔓延到东地中海。

据报道，3月2日凌晨刚过几分钟，一架“沙赫德”（Shahed）型无人机撞击了英国基地的跑道，英国国防部称造成的损失“微乎其微”，没有人员伤亡报告。塞浦路斯当局称，3月2日当天还拦截了两架以该基地为目标的无人机。

人们普遍认为，此次袭击是由伊朗或其支持的代理人实施的，旨在报复美国从英国驻塞浦路斯基地开展的、支持美以联合袭击伊朗的军事行动。伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队也在官方媒体上威胁要用弹道导弹袭击塞浦路斯。

希腊国防部长尼科斯·登迪亚斯宣布，希腊海军已部署了FDI HN“基蒙”号护卫舰。该舰被誉为希腊海军最先进的舰艇，也是唯一一艘具备远程防空能力的舰艇。与此同时，另一艘护卫舰——据地区媒体报道名为“普萨拉”号——也已部署到位。“普萨拉”号配备了希腊自主研发的“半人马座”反无人机系统，探测距离可达150公里。塞浦路斯政府发言人康斯坦丁诺斯·莱蒂姆比奥蒂斯在X平台（原推特）上证实，四架F-16战斗机已抵达塞浦路斯。

希腊政府此前宣布，已向塞浦路斯运送了“两架”F-16战斗机。

2026年1月29日，希腊新近建造的法国护卫舰“基蒙”号停泊在雅典附近的萨拉米纳海军基地。（Angelos Tzortzinis / AFP via Getty Images）

塞浦路斯媒体报道还称，一架希腊C-130大力神运输机已于周一晚间抵达这个东地中海岛屿。

希腊和塞浦路斯长期以来保持着密切联系，包括军事领域。自土耳其军事干预导致塞浦路斯分裂以来，雅典一直扮演着塞浦路斯保护国的角色。希腊外长登迪亚斯前往塞浦路斯与塞浦路斯国防部长瓦西里斯·帕尔马斯直接协调，他表示，希腊将在整个危机期间“尽一切可能”支持塞浦路斯。

与此同时，塞浦路斯总统尼科斯·赫里斯托祖利季斯坚称，他的国家“不会以任何方式参与，也不打算参与任何军事行动”。

据《伦敦时报》报道，除了希腊，英国似乎也准备向该地区派遣一艘能够拦截弹道导弹的军舰。

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林努斯·霍勒是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者和开源情报调查员。他报道影响欧洲乃至全球的军火交易、制裁和地缘政治。他拥有大规模杀伤性武器不扩散、恐怖主义研究和国际关系三个硕士学位，并精通英语、德语、俄语和西班牙语四种语言。