The 1st International Defence and Security Conference in Cyprus entitled “BATTLEFIELD ReDEFiNED 2023” was successfully completed.

The participations in the conference exceeded 180 in total, while among the VIPs were the Minister of Defence, Mr. Charalambos Petridis, the President of the Defence Committee of the Parliament, Mr. Marinos Sizopoulos, the Ambassador of Greece, Mr. Papameletiou Giorgos, the Ambassador of the Czech Republic, Mr. Vladimir Němec, the Chief of the National Guard, Lieutenant General Dimokritos Zervakis, and Defence Attachés from France, the United Kingdom, and Egypt.

Among the participants were representatives of the European Commission, the European Defence Agency, the President and members of the Hellenic Aerospace Security & Defense Industries Group (HASDIG), officers of the National Guard, the Cyprus Police, and the Fire Service.

At the corporate level, more than 10 companies from Greece, Cyprus, as well as large companies of the European defence industry participated actively and interactively with display areas and products such as unmanned aerial vehicles, unmanned ground vehicles, and electronic warfare systems.

Also read: BATTLEFIELD ReDEFiNED 2023 | The Cyprus International Defence and Security Conference

Regarding the proceedings of the first day of the conference, two separate sessions were held.

The first session was entitled “The emerging Cypriot Defence Industry – EU Funding Opportunities” and was dedicated to the capabilities of developing a strong Defence, Security, and Aerospace industrial base in Cyprus, utilizing the industrial aspects of European Defence Cooperation and EU funding tools.

During this first session, representatives from the Ministry of Defence, the Cyprus Association of Research and Innovation Enterprises (CARIE), the Directorate General for Defense Industry and Space of the European Commission (DG-DEFIS), the European Defense Agency (EDA), the French Marine Industry Group GICAN, the HASDIG association as well as representatives from companies in the Defence Sector contributed in various ways both to the dialogue on the development of the local defence industry.

Furthermore, the ever-growing dynamics of defence capabilities building through synergies and integration of small- and medium-sized enterprises in the production cycle were discussed.

The common denominator of all of these is the capitalization of the political support of the state through the joint development and supply of systems aiming at the Strategic Autonomy of Europe.

Also read: BATTLEFIELD ReDEFiNED 2023 | Schedule and Participations in the 1st Cyprus International Defence and Security Conference

However, what caught the attention of the delegates was the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between CARIE and HASDIG in the presence of both the Greek Ambassador and the Minister of Defence, which paved the way for creative and productive collaborations between the two associations.

In the second part of the first day of the Conference, the session entitled “Multi-Domain and Network Centric Operations – Trends and Solutions” took place.

The content of this topic contained a series of speeches and presentations by executives of distinguished companies in the domestic and European defence industry, namely MBDA, Arquus Defense, EODH, CyRIC, SignalGeneriX, AmaDema, ADDITESS, CELLOC LTD, Ecliptic Defence and Space and ALTUS LSA.

These speeches and presentations addressed various aspects of multi-domain and network-centric operations and solutions that apply to the modern battlefield. At the same time, the executives referred to the potential of their companies as well as the role they can play in the new theater of operations.

On the second day, the Conference began its work with the theme “Resilience in a rapidly changing world”, at the center of which was the Ukrainian issue, the aspects of which were thoroughly analyzed by representatives of research centers and journalists both at a strategic and tactical level.

Also read: BATTLEFIELD ReDEFiNED 2023 | The emerging Cypriot Defence Industry – EU Funding Opportunities

The third session, however, did not end there, as there were presentations on emerging technologies in Defence and Security by distinguished officials of the European Defence Agency, which were surrounded by audio-visual interventions on the subject of new technologies and modern tactical doctrines such as the BLOS (Beyond Line of Sight) offensive capabilities with the AKERON MP missile system (formerly known as MMP) in the framework of the LynkEUs program. Following on topics such as Countering Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (C-UAS), Coastal Defence (Coastal Warfare) as well as with presentations of battle systems and platforms including the Greek-made Tactical Wheeled Armored Vehicle 4×4 HOPLITE took place. In addition, electronic warfare systems such as the Cypriot-made RF Hunter were presented for the first time in Cyprus.

In the fourth and final session entitled “Armed and Security Forces Synergies”, the executives of the companies carrying their own experience and expertise elaborated on dual-use technologies such as cyber warfare, asymmetric threats, means to protect against Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear Agents and Explosives (CBRN-E), applications and tools for First Responders, Search Rescue, and Firefighting topics.

Yet, except for these, various other major issues were raised for consideration, such as the weaponization of the immigration issue by experts with references to various incidents that proved to be fake news. Officials of the Crisis Management Center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Joint Rescue Coordination Center also discussed the synergies between the armed and security forces.

The overall result of the Conference is evaluated as successful, since not only were a wide range of systems, technologies, and methodologies presented by lecturers, university professors, researchers, and highly prestigious executives, but at the same time, it created the conditions in which the delegates exchanged opinions and created strong networking. In addition, the conference was a good basis for strengthening the defence and security ecosystem in Cyprus. Through the special thematics, all those elements that really redefine the modern battlefield were presented. 

Further articles analyzing the special sections will follow.

We wish that this Conference was the first – but not the last – step in a new effort to reinforce the domestic Defence industry, something imperative for Hellenism as a whole.

Also read: MBDA | Successful firings with AKERON MP of the LynkEUs program in Cyprus – VIDEO