Britain to upgrade communications on Cyprus military base

NICOSIA, Cyprus — The U.Okay. will construct a brand new communications facility on certainly one of two bases it maintains on the Japanese Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus, a British Defence Ministry spokesman mentioned Friday.

The spokesman instructed The Related Press that the aim of the “small-scale infrastructure mission” is to “modernize communications infrastructure and improve our resilience.”

The spokesman, talking on customary situation of anonymity, gave no additional particulars. The power can be constructed at a disused web site at Dhekelia Garrison on Cyprus’ southeastern nook.

The U.Okay. retained the bases when Cyprus gained independence from British colonial rule in 1960.

The bases incorporate a big airfield at RAF Akrotiri and an essential digital intelligence gathering station at Ayios Nicolaos located round 175 kilometers (109 miles) from Syria’s Mediterranean shoreline.

Notably, Britain has projected its navy energy within the area because it exited the European Union on Feb. 1, 2020, with massive naval deployments, similar to its latest plane provider HMS Queen Elizabeth, from which cutting-edge F-35 jets function.

British navy plane have additionally flown from RAF Akrotiri to help within the struggle towards the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq.