THE CABINET yesterday unanimously approved the purchase of three “multi-purpose” helicopters to service the needs of the National Guard and the police force.
According to Government Spokesman Michalis Papapetrou, the decision was reached “easily and quickly” – in stark contrast to the behind-the-scenes deliberations and rumors the government was being pressured to buy US-made helicopters. Initially, reports indicated that two separate purchases would be made, one for the armed forces and the other for the police.
Papapetrou confirmed yesterday a single purchase was on the cards; the choppers would primarily be used by the police’s airborne unit, but would undergo certain modifications so as to also satisfy the requirements of military operations. Papapetrou would not elaborate on the choppers’ technical specifications.
A tenders’ process is already under way, and three companies are bidding for the sale. A previous call for tenders had been scrapped after irregularities in the process.
The choppers will be used in search & rescue operations, firefighting, monitoring of the coastline and by the National Guard.
Addressing concerns that materiel used by the National Guard should not be made available to other departments, Papapetrou said the choppers would more than adequately provide for the needs of the armed forces.
The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.
