AKROTIRI air base near Limassol was yesterday officially designated the British command centre for any international military operation on Libya, British bases authorities confirmed.
It has been named Operation Ellamy.
“RAF Akrotiri is supporting E3D surveillance aircraft, the AWACS, and they are keeping abreast of events in the area,” said bases spokesman Kristian Gray.
“Also deploying at Akrotiri is the Joint Force Air Component HQ, which is coordinating the movement of UK air assets in operational areas. HQ will be on Cyprus for as long as it’s required,” Gray added.
Gray declined to comment on how many, or what type of aircraft might be flown into Cyprus. In the early hours of yesterday two AWACS were seen stationed on the tarmac at Akrotiri.
Another unmarked aircraft was seen taking off but Gray said he had no information on what it was. He also said he had no idea how many extra personnel would be deployed at Akrotiri for Operation Ellamy.
“In terms of people…they have been flown into Cyprus but I can’t give any numbers,” said Gray who added that there had been speculation that the numbers were in the hundreds. “It’s incredible the numbers being bandied about,” he said.
Speculation in the British press yesterday quoted experts as estimating that eight to 12 Typhoon (Eurofighter) and six to 12 Tornado GR4 jets “would be deployed to a base in Italy or Cyprus” along with air-to-air refuelling capacity.
One military expert told Reuters that the key to the success of any operation would be “the enablers”. “The AWACS aircraft, refuelling aircraft, intelligence assets and special forces units acting as potential forward air controllers,” he said.
Asked yesterday if the Cyprus government had been informed of Operation Ellamy, the bases spokesman said: “I imagine so.” He said it would not be the job of the bases authorities to inform Nicosia however. “The decision came from Downing Street,” he said.
Government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou did not respond to calls yesterday. He said on Friday evening that Nicosia was in constant contact with London on the issue.
House President Marios Garoyian told reporters yesterday that Cyprus would need to be cautious. Given that the island sees itself as a bridge in international relations, any attacks on Libya launched from Akrotiri, would be risky for Cyprus.
Akrotiri is Britain’s biggest RAF base abroad, and analysts say it is an ideal springboard for a Libya operation. It already plays a vital role as a staging and supply post for British forces in Afghanistan, as it did in two Gulf wars against Iraq.
But it has never been involved in direct offensive action against another country since the Suez crisis in 1956.
