Arquus to Deliver 12 SHERPA Station Wagon Equipped with MBDA’s AKERON Missile Launcher

At DEFEA exhibition in Athens, Arquus announced its new partnership with Cyprus through the sale of its SHERPA vehicles. As part of their strategic partnership, France’s directorate general of armaments (DGA) and the Cypriot ministry of defence concluded this agreement. This agreement marks a new step forward in strengthening defence ties between the two nations. Within this framework, Arquus will provide 12 armoured vehicles, SHERPA Station Wagon, specifically adapted for firing the AKERON missile. Arquus will also handle the integration of the weapon system. The Arquus team met the Cypriot delegation headed by Anna Aristotelous, the new defense permanent secretary of the Cyprus’ ministry of defense, together with Panayiotis Symeou, national director of armament of Cyprus MoD in DEFEA. Born from a high-level meeting between the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Níkos Christodoulídis, and President Emmanuel Macron, marking a decisive step in Franco-Cypriot relations, this partnership aims to strengthen ties between the two nations in the field of defence. This first contract paves the way for a promising partnership between Cyprus MoD/ National Guard and Arquus, with the shared ambition of reinforcing Cyprus’ defence industrial capabilities. This contract also highlights the industrial partnership between Arquus and MBDA, who have collaborated to deliver a product tailored to Cyprus’ specific needs. The two companies are working together within the framework of the LynkEUs project, a Franco-Belgian-Cypriot consortium aimed at developing beyond-line-of-sight firing capabilities. As part of this effort, AKERON missile test firings were conducted in Cyprus in September 2022 against targets located between 2,500 and 3,000 meters away, in both autonomous and collaborative configurations, to test the missile’s integration into the SHERPA platform. Both firings hit their targets beyond line of sight, demonstrating the effectiveness of this advanced technology and the strength of European cooperation. The cooperation between the Cypriot ministry of defence and Arquus is set to deepen, with plans to modernise the National Guard’s fleet of 4x4 and 6x6 VAB vehicles. This upgrade programme will feature a significant localization component by involving companies from Cyprus’ defence industry cluster, CARIE (Cyprus Association of Defense Industries) as per the guidelines of Cyprus President Christodoulidis. Already a supplier to Greece, Arquus has notably delivered 240 Light Armoured Vehicles (VBL) to the Hellenic Army. These vehicles will be fully upgraded in the maintenance workshops of the Greek Army, once again demonstrating Arquus’ commitment to the region. Arquus aligns with the new Greek defence policy outlined by defence minister Nikos Dendias, who calls for a localisation rate of around 25 per cent. In addition to localisation, the upgraded VBL would be fitted with Greek-made electronic subsystems, sourced from the Greek defence industry.