Cyprus and Greece carried out a joint search and rescue exercise in the eastern Mediterranean on Wednesday, the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) said.
The exercise, codenamed “Salamis-03/26”, took place within the Republic of Cyprus’ search and rescue area of responsibility.
It involved the Greek navy frigates Nikiforos Fokas and Hydra, the National Guard naval command patrol vessel Ioannidis and a helicopter from the National Guard’s 460 Search and Rescue Squadron.
A helicopter from the police aviation unit also participated, alongside medical personnel from the ambulance service’s specialist MEDEVAC team.
The exercise was coordinated by the Larnaca JRCC in cooperation with the Hellenic Navy General Staff.
According to the JRCC, the exercise was held under the bilateral Cyprus-Greece agreement on search and rescue and was aimed at improving the provision of search and rescue services in the eastern Mediterranean.
The Hellenic navy frigate Nikiforos Fokas has replaced the Elli after the latter completed an almost 100-day deployment as part of Greece’s contribution to Cyprus’ defence following a drone strike on the British Base of Akrotiri.
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