Cyprus’ defence technology sector is growing

With no less than six Cypriot companies recently joining the Ministry of Defence and The Cyprus Institute’s Unmanned System Research Laboratory at the 2nd DEFEA – Defence Exhibition Athens 2023, it is clear that the country’s defence technology sector is growing.

Defence Minister Michalis Giorgallas earlier this month also confirmed that the Republic of Cyprus is in line and in tune with the global and European trend for investing more in defence, armaments, and capabilities.

Welcoming the Cypriot presence at DEFEA, Minister Giorgallas expressed his satisfaction with the national pavilion, stressing that "the ecosystem of companies involved in defence systems in Cyprus is being consolidated and is gradually becoming a leading player both in the Cyprus market and in Europe at large".

"Once again, Cypriot companies are proving that they can be reliable partners of Europe's major defence equipment manufacturers," he added at the 6 to 8 May event.

Later in the month speaking at the opening of the first French-Cypriot Security and Defence Workshop that took place in Nicosia between 16 and 17 May, he added that Cyprus “has significantly increased its defence spending in the last years and we will maintain this pace.”

“An important part of our defence spending goes to armaments procurement as well as into research and innovation,” Giorgallas added.

Below, CBN briefly outlines the Cypriot companies that attended this year’s prestigious global defence event, in alphabetical order. The six are all members of the Cyprus Association of Research and Innovation Companies.

ADITESS

According to its website, ADITESS conducts theoretical and applied research and to produce studies, in strategic and tactical levels. It covers issues concerning security, safety, and protection. Projects include a new concept in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) market to minimise development costs.

CELLOCK

CELLOCK is active in various sectors including software development, business intelligence, data analytics and AI, hardware development and digital transformation. Its work includes the Icarus Project where 12 big-data and aviation providers including CELLOCK, are partnering to create ICARUS to build a novel data value chain in aviation-related sectors, the company says.

CYRIC

CyRIC has been accumulating vast experience in Research and Innovation and Industry projects with participation in more than 25 R&D projects with budget exceeding €40m. Currently CyRIC participates in several multimillion EU and National projects either as a coordinator, R&D partner or both and executes numerous assigned projects for the industry, its website says.

ENCORP

Encorp, an engineering corporation, cater for the needs of the Industrial, Marine and Military Sectors offering specialised design and engineering works to equipment and facilities. According to its website, the company specialises in the design and manufacture of a wide range of special vehicles and trucks including fire service, military, ambulances, police/swat and many other semi – customised and customised solutions.

SIGNALGENERIX

SignalGeneriX uses its expertise in frontier R&D and Electronic product development to develop state-of-the-art solutions through four main business operations, Research & Development, Electronic Product Development, Rapid Prototyping & Manufacturing, and Smart Systems Integration, the company’s website says.

SWARMLY

Swarmly is a startup aerospace company that built what its website describes as the first Integrated VTOL Avionics System (IAS) in the world - R8 Hermes. ​Its Poseidon line of VTOL UAS, meanwhile, is built around the concept of tight integration of best-in-class components from the world-leading manufacturers of UAS airframes, electric and hybrid propulsion components, and payloads with R8 Hermes IAS, the company’s website says.

Also representing Cyprus at DEFEA was The Cyprus Institute’s Unmanned Systems Research Laboratory (USRL), part of the institute’s Climate & Atmosphere Research Center (CARE-C). As noted by The Cyprus Institute, the USRL is the first in Cyprus and one of the first in Europe to be granted with Operational Authorisations for Fixed-Wing and Multirotor UAS under the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).