*Athanasios Tsakalos

In an announcement, the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Cyprus has stated that it has launched a relevant closed procedure to sell decommissioned military equipment and ammunition.

According to an article by Dr. Giannis Charalambidis, however, on the website Simerini, the announcement in question mainly refers to the withdrawal of 120 Cascavel armored wheeled vehicles of the National Guard.

1/6🧵 περί #cascavel .. Όταν οι 🇺🇸 το 1987 θεωρούσαν αναβάθμιση (ορθώς) την αγορά των Cascavels με το πυροβόλο των 90mm..αλλά στο τέλος πίστευαν ότι θα κερδίσει η αντίπαλος..📷 από το αρχείο της CIA. Στα σημερινά δεδομένα το μέλλον των εναπομείναντων 🇨🇾 cascavel είναι δυσοίωνο 👇 pic.twitter.com/Jzuc0OVVV8

— DEFENCE ReDEFiNED (@Def_Redefined) March 26, 2024

In the context of the procedure and according to the writer’s information, the Greek company of the domestic defence industry EODH SA has also expressed interest in the said tender, specifically in respect to the Cascavels. 

According to the announcement, the deadline for the pre-selection of interested economic operators expires on March 28, 2024.

The profile of EODH SA

The Greek company is known to the Cypriot public because of its contacts with the leadership of the National Guard regarding programs involving, among others, the upgrading of a number of AMX-30B2 battle tanks, the EE-9 Cascavel wheeled armored reconnaissance vehicles and the “Leonidas” Armored Personnel Carriers (APVs).

Also read: Upgrade proposal for Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) “Leonidas” by Greek company EODH

During the international defence exhibition DEFEA 2023 in Athens, the former Minister of Defence of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr. Michalis Giorgallas, visited the pavilion of the Greek company EODH.

The President of EODH, Mr. Andreas Mitsis, presented, among other things, the 4×4 armored vehicle “HOPLITE” and the upgrade of the “LEONIDAS” APV to the IFV “Leonidas 300” version, to the Minister of Defence of the Republic of Cyprus.

Also read: DEFEA 2023 | Greek EODH manufactures the armor of Norway’s new Leopard 2A7 – Signs Agreement with German KMW

It is the first time that the “HOPLITE” was extensively presented to the Minister of Defence of Cyprus at an exhibition where the vehicle was showcased.

Previously, EODH participated in the International Conference on Defence and Security, BATTLEFIELD ReDEFiNED 2023, in Cyprus, unveiling, among others, the Greek “HOPLITE” vehicle in Cyprus, as you can read in the following article.

Also read: EODH | HOPLITE unveiled in Cyprus at the BATTLEFIELD ReDEFiNED Conference 2023

See in the following VIDEO the exclusive presentation of the “HOPLITE” to the DEFENCE ReDEFiNED team at the international defence and security exhibition Eurosatory 2022 in Paris.