When President Nikos Christodoulides first spoke about his government’s plans to develop Cyprus’ defence industry at the end of last year, many may have thought he was joking. He was not, as shortly afterwards he announced ‘six actions’ to boost the local defence industry. These included the participation of Cyprus companies in military equipment programmes of other countries, financial support of innovation programmes, subsidising the participation of Cyprus companies in defence exhibitions abroad and certification of the manufacturing of defence equipment.

He revisited the matter on countless occasions subsequently, giving the impression that developing a defence industry and producing “cutting-edge military equipment” in a country that has neither the know-how nor the expertise of arms production was about as easy as producing halloumi. Overnight, because the president announced it, Cyprus’ defence industry “would be transformed in a way that Cyprus would become a centre of advanced technology in the field of defence and become capable of contributing significantly to the collective security framework of Europe.”

These outlandish claims have been accepted unquestioningly, probably because nobody wants to criticise or challenge a noble cause, even if it exists in the realm of fantasy. Everyone appears to have embraced the fantasy, Defence Minister Vasilis Palmas saying on Tuesday that defence industry was of “emblematic importance.” The industry, he told a House committee, was now capable of producing complete products and supplying both the public and private sectors, while defence companies were able to draw EU funds, which underlined their credibility.

The House committee was told, in support of the government defence narrative, that in recent years the industry had grown from a few companies to some 30, which were generating approximately €40m in annual revenue. While this is good for the economy, it puts things in perspective when we consider the huge amounts of money needed for the creation of a defence industry. Some companies may be producing defence-related products or software but the amounts of money involved indicate a cottage defence industry rather than the foundations for the creation of advanced technology defence systems.

Perhaps the unrealistic objectives are based on the unquestionable ability of Cyprus companies to draw EU funds. Now €150 billion have been made available through SAFE, the new EU financial instrument that will support member states that want to invest in defence industrial production. Palmas complained that 60 per cent was distributed among the big countries and a smaller share was left for the small countries, which is perfectly understandable, considering small countries had no defence industry to speak of. For now, Cyprus has secured €500,000 from the European Defence Fund to develop a new national defence industry strategy. We have not formulated a strategy for the industry yet, but the government is already talking about producing “cutting edge military equipment.”

For a country that has been trying to import natural gas for 20 years without success, the idea of developing a defence industry can only be described as fantasy.