British Forces Cyprus (BFC) is the name given to the

British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces are the unified military, military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its British Overseas Territories, Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests ...

stationed in the UK

Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia Akrotiri and Dhekelia (), officially the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (SBA), is a British Overseas Territory made of two non-contiguous areas on the island of Cyprus. The areas, which include British military bases and instal ...

on the island of Cyprus and at a number of related 'retained sites' in the

Republic of Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the third lar ...

. The

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

retains a military presence on the island in order to keep a strategic location at the eastern end of the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

, for use as a staging point for forces sent to locations in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

and

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. BFC is a tri-service

command Command may refer to: Computing * Command (computing), a statement in a computer language * command (Unix), a Unix command * COMMAND.COM, the default operating system shell and command-line interpreter for DOS * Command key, a modifier key on A ...

, with all three services based on the island reporting to it.

History

Following the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus in 1960, the UK retained two Sovereign Base Areas in Akrotiri and Dhekelia and an RAF air marshal was appointed as the Administrator of the Sovereign Base Areas. The Treaty of Establishment also provided British access to 40 'retained sites' in the republic of Cyprus; these included numerous radar stations, several ports, a range of accommodation and support facilities and a firing range. In March of the following year British Forces Near East was created, the command of which was then held concurrently with that of the post of Administrator. On 1 March 1961, the Southern Group of Middle East Air Force became Near East Air Force and was based in

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

. By 1962, the title ''British Forces in Cyprus'' was in official use. In 1976, as part of a

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the ministry of foreign affairs and a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. The office was created on 2 ...

brief in preparation for the visit of the

CENTO Cento (; Bolognese dialect, Northern Bolognese: ; Bolognese dialect, City Bolognese: ; Bolognese dialect, Centese: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. History The name Cento is a reference to the centur ...

Secretary-General to the UK, it was recorded that:

..two Vulcan medium bomber squadrons, one Lightning all-weather fighter squadron, one Hercules transport squadron and one Whirlwind helicopter squadron were stationed on the island. It would be very difficult to relocate these forces and their training facilities to a base in a CENTO member state since an agreement would have to be negotiated. Besides, the United Kingdom would also have to pay the host nation for facilities granted. The sites in Cyprus were guarded by one infantry battalion, defended by a Bloodhound anti-aircraft missile squadron and one armoured car squadron. In fact, the Vulcans based at Akrotiri were 'the only declared nuclear force in CENTO' and the island played a unique part in the capacity of the air route of CENTO for the transfer of forces east of Suez in times of war. The radar sites and the fighter squadron were considered an extension of the NATO air defence system."

British Forces Cyprus retains the right to use 13 retained sites with the remaining 27 having been returned to Cyprus after the Ministry of Defence no longer required them. The most recent sites to be returned were the Berengaria Married Quarters in 2011, because they had become obsolete and the firing range on the Akamas peninsula in 1999-2001. Its training value was deemed less important than the environmental damage inflicted on an ecologically important area and the consequent political liability to British Forces Cyprus.

Force structure

Episkopi is the current location of Headquarters British Forces Cyprus. Commander British Forces Cyprus (CBF) and Administrator of the Sovereign Base Areas is a two-star appointment, alternating every three years between a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

major-general and a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

air vice-marshal. Consequently, the Chief of Staff British Forces Cyprus (COS) is a one-star appointment from the opposite service of the commander. Episkopi Cantonment is home to the Sovereign Base Areas Administration, the civilian authority in the territory. Cyprus Graphic 2020

RAF Joint Movement Squadron MOD 45168123

Within British Forces Cyprus are a number of permanently based units; however, the large proportion of British forces in Cyprus are rotated between Cyprus and the UK: * Permanent Units ** HQ, British Forces Cyprus ** Joint Service Signal Unit (Cyprus) ( Ayios Nikolaos Station) *** Regimental Headquarters *** 840 Signal Squadron RAF *** Engineering Squadron *** Support Squadron ** Cyprus Communications Unit (an amalgamation of 12 Signals Unit RAF at Episkopi (1 June 1969 - 1 Sept 2002) & 259 Signal Squadron,

Royal Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communications an ...

) ** Cyprus Operations Support Unit *** Military Transport Squadron *** Joint Movement Squadron *** Joint Engineer Squadron *** Joint Logistics Squadron *** Air Operations Squadron *** Cyprus Force Workshop ** No. 84 Squadron RAF ** Resident infantry battalions — usually two light role infantry battalions, one at Dhekelia and one at Episkopi, are permanently based on the island; the battalions are usually rotated every 1–2 years. *** 1st Battalion

The Rifles The Rifles is an infantry regiment of the British Army. Formed in 2007, it consists of four Regular battalions and three Reserve battalions. Each Regular battalion was formerly an individual battalion of one of the two large regiments of the ...

*** 1st Battalion,

Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (PWRR), also known as the Tigers, is the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, second in the line infantry order of precedence to the Royal Regiment of Scotland and part of the Queen ...

** Cyprus Military Working Dog Troop, Episkopi ** Joint Service Adventure training Centre, Dhekelia ** Cyprus Joint Police Unit (CJPU), HQ Episkopi, a Tri-Service Military Police Unit consisting of Royal Navy Police, Royal Military Police and RAF Police. *** 1 Platoon CJPU — Dhekelia *** 2 Platoon CJPU — Episkopi * Civilian Components ** Sovereign Base Areas Customs **

Sovereign Base Areas Police The Sovereign Base Areas Police is the local civilian police force for the British controlled Sovereign Base Areas (SBA) of Akrotiri and Dhekelia in Cyprus. Organisation Established in August 1960, the force has responsibility for all 15,000 re ...

** Security Force Police * Public Health and Environmental Health Services ** Joint Services Health Unit (Formed in 1958) *** HQ Akrotiri *** No. 1 detachment RAF Akrotiri *** No. 2 detachment Episkopi *** No. 4 detachment Dhekelia The Queen's and King's Divisions continue to rotate battalions through Cyprus every three years.

Commanders

The following officers have been in command of British Forces Cyprus: General Officer Commanding Cyprus District * 18 March 1955 — Major-General Abdy Ricketts * 19 October 1956 — Major-General Douglas Kendrew * 11 October 1958 — Major-General Kenneth Darling Commander, British Forces in Cyprus * 16 August 1960 — Air Marshal Sir William MacDonald (Administrator of the SBAs from 1960) * 16 July 1962 —

Air Chief Marshal Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British i ...

Sir Denis Barnett, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Near East and Commander British Forces in Cyprus. * 25 September 1964 — Air Marshal T O Prickett; Air Vice-Marshal T O Prickett CB, DSO, DFC, was "appointed Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Near East Air Force and Commander, British Forces in Cyprus, with the acting rank of Air Marshal in succession to" Air Chief Marshal Barnett, 25 Sept 1964. * 21 November 1966 — Air Marshal E G Jones "appointed Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Near East Air Force and Commander, British Forces in Cyprus, with the acting rank of Air Marshal in succession to Air Marshal Sir Thomas Prickett" * 6 May 1969 — Air Marshal D G Smallwood * 2 July 1970 — Air Marshal W D Hodgkinson, Commander, British Forces Near East; AOC in C, Near East Air Force; Administrator,

* 25 June 1973 — Air Marshal Sir John Aiken as Commander, British Forces Near East and Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Near East Air Force Still Commander British Forces Near East in 1974. Commander, British Forces Cyprus * 1 April 1976 — Air Vice-Marshal R D Austen-Smith as Commander, British Forces Cyprus/Air Commander, Cyprus and, Administrator, British Sovereign Base Areas - Cyprus on 1 April 1976; * 28 April 1978 — Major-General W R Taylor * 3 October 1980 — Air Vice-Marshal R L Davis * 31 March 1983 — Major-General Sir Desmond Langley * 29 October 1985 — Air Vice-Marshal K W Hayr * 21 April 1988 — Major-General J P W Friedberger * 1990 — Air Vice-Marshal A F C Hunter * 25 March 1993 — Major-General A G H Harley * 17 February 1995 — Air Vice-Marshal P Millar * 16 January 1998 — Major-General A I Ramsay * 5 September 2000 — Air Vice-Marshal T W Rimmer * 5 September 2003 — Major-General P T C Pearson * 26 April 2006 — Air Vice-Marshal R H Lacey * 16 October 2008 — Major-General J H Gordon * 4 November 2010 — Air Vice-Marshal G E Stacey * 3 January 2012 — Major-General R Cripwell * 20 January 2015 — Air Vice-Marshal M Wigston * February 2017 — Major-General J T E Illingworth * 25 September 2019 – Major-General R J Thomson * August 2022 – Air Vice-Marshal P J M Squires

Operation TOSCA

Operation TOSCA is the name given to the British contribution to the

United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

(UNFICYP). The British Contingent (BRITCON) numbers between 200 and 300, and consists of three distinct parts: * HQ BRITCON — responsible for the administration and support of the British Contingent. * Force Military Police Unit — the FMPU is commanded by a major of the Royal Military Police, with seven other members of the RMP as part of the multi-national unit. * UN Roulement Regiment — the URR has responsibility for patrolling Sector 2 of the Green Line in

Nicosia Nicosia, also known as Lefkosia and Lefkoşa, is the capital and largest city of Cyprus. It is the southeasternmost of all EU member states' capital cities. Nicosia has been continuously inhabited for over 5,500 years and has been the capi ...

. The URR is drawn from across the

Field Army A field army (also known as numbered army or simply army) is a military formation in many armed forces, composed of two or more corps. It may be subordinate to an army group. Air army, Air armies are the equivalent formations in air forces, and ...

, and will not necessarily be a specialist combat unit (infantry or cavalry), or even part of the Regular Army, as, since 2008, units of the Territorial Army / Army Reserve have undertaken deployments to the Green Line. One of the roles of the support units of BFC is to assist as needed the British units deployed with UNFICYP, which are not part of BFC, but are instead under the direct command of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Units

Listed is the unit that provided the Regimental Headquarters and the bulk of the troops. Often soldiers from a number of Territorial Army units would also deploy as part of the force. * April 1973 – October 1973: 1st Battalion, Parachute Regiment * October 1973 – April 1974: * April 1974 – October 1974: 2nd Battalion,

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...

* October 1974 – April 1975: Queen's Royal Irish Hussars * April 1975 – October 1975: 1st Royal Tank Regiment * October 1975 – April 1976: * April 1976 – October 1976: * October 1976 – April 1977: 1st Battalion, Parachute Regiment * April 1977 – October 1977: 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Rangers * October 1977 – April 1978: * April 1978 – October 1978: 1st Battalion,

Royal Regiment of Fusiliers The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (often referred to as, "The Fusiliers") is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division. Currently, the regiment has two battalions: the 1st Battalion, part of the Regular Army, is an ...

* October 1978 – April 1979: 3rd Battalion,

The Light Infantry The Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Light Division. The regiment was one of four 'large' regiments formed after the 1966 Defence White Paper through the amalgamation of units of the Light Infantry Bri ...

* April 1979 – October 1979: 41 Commando Royal Marines * October 1979 – April 1980: 1st Battalion, The Light Infantry * April 1980 – October 1980: 3rd Battalion,

Royal Green Jackets The Royal Green Jackets (RGJ) was an infantry regiment of the British Army, one of two "large regiments" within the Light Division (the other being The Light Infantry). History The Royal Green Jackets was formed on 1 January 1966 by the amalgam ...

* October 1980 – April 1981: 3rd Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment * April 1981 – October 1981: 1st Battalion,

Green Howards The Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regiment), frequently known as the Yorkshire Regiment until the 1920s, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, in the King's Division. Raised in 1688, it served under variou ...

* October 1981 – April 1982: 2nd Battalion,

Queen's Regiment The Queen's Regiment (QUEENS) was an infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1966 through the amalgamation of the four regiments of the Home Counties Brigade. Then, until 1971 the regiment remained one of the largest regiments in the ar ...

* April 1982 – October 1982: 1st Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment * October 1982 – April 1983: 2nd Battalion,

Grenadier Guards The Grenadier Guards (GREN GDS) is the most senior infantry regiment of the British Army, being at the top of the Infantry Order of Precedence. It can trace its lineage back to 1656 when Lord Wentworth's Regiment was raised in Bruges to protect ...

* April 1983 – October 1983: 1st Battalion,

Queen's Lancashire Regiment The Queen's Lancashire Regiment (30th, 40th, 47th, 59th, 81st and 82nd Regiments of Foot) (QLR) was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the King's Division. It was formed on 25 March 1970 at Connaught Barracks, Dover, Connaught ...

* October 1983 – June 1984: 2nd Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment * June 1984 – December 1984: * December 1984 – June 1985: 1st Battalion, Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment (Berkshire and Wiltshire) * June 1985 – December 1985: 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Rangers * December 1985 – June 1986: 2nd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers * June 1986 – December 1986: 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment * December 1986 – June 1987: 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers * June 1987 – December 1987: 1st Battalion, Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment * December 1987 – June 1988: 1st Battalion,

King's Own Royal Border Regiment The King's Own Royal Border Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1959 until 2006, and was part of the King's Division. It was formed at Barnard Castle on 1 October 1959 through the amalgamation of the King's ...

* June 1988 – December 1988: 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards * December 1988 – June 1989: 12 Air Defence Regiment,

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

* June 1989 – December 1989: * December 1989 – June 1990: 2 Field Regiment, Royal Artillery * June 1990 – December 1990: 22 Regiment, Royal Artillery * December 1990 – June 1991:

Queen's Own Hussars The Queen's Own Hussars (QOH), was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, formed from the amalgamation of the 3rd The King's Own Hussars and the 7th Queen's Own Hussars at Candahar Barracks, Tidworth in 1958. The regiment served in Aden and ...

? * June 1991 – December 1991: * December 1991 – June 1992: 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars * June 1992 – December 1992: 5 Regiment, Royal Artillery * December 1992 – June 1993: Queen's Royal Irish Hussars * June 1993 – December 1993: 39 Regiment, Royal Artillery * December 1993 – June 1994: 2nd Royal Tank Regiment * June 1994 – December 1994: 7th Field Regiment,

Royal Horse Artillery The Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) was formed in 1793 as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery (commonly termed Royal Artillery) to provide horse artillery support to the cavalry units of the British Army. Although the cavalry link rem ...

* December 1994 – June 1995: 29 Commando Regiment, Royal Artillery and Queen's Royal Lancers * June 1995 – December 1995: * December 1995 – June 1996: 12 Regiment, Royal Artillery * June 1996 – December 1996: 39 Regiment, Royal Artillery * December 1996 – June 1997: 32 Regiment, Royal Artillery * June 1997 – December 1997: 5 Regiment, Royal Artillery * December 1997 – June 1998: 1st Royal Tank Regiment * June 1998 – December 1998: 19 Regiment, Royal Artillery * December 1998 – June 1999: 47 Regiment, Royal Artillery * June 1999 – December 1999: 22 Regiment, Royal Artillery * December 1999 – June 2000: 1st Battalion,

Staffordshire Regiment The Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's) (or simply "Staffords" for short) was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales's Division. The regiment was formed in 1959 by the amalgamation of the South Staffordshire R ...

* June 2000 – December 2000: 16 Regiment, Royal Artillery * December 2000 – June 2001: Queen's Royal Lancers * June 2001 – December 2001: 12 Regiment, Royal Artillery * December 2001 – June 2002: 32 Regiment, Royal Artillery * June 2002 – December 2002: * December 2002 – June 2003: * June 2003 – December 2003: 22 Regiment, Royal Artillery * December 2003 – June 2003: 3rd Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery * June 2003 – December 2003: * December 2003 – June 2004: * June 2004 – December 2004: 40 Regiment, Royal Artillery * December 2004 – ? 2005: 26 Regiment, Royal Artillery * 2005: 1st Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery * October 2007 – April 2008: 10 Queen's Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment,

Royal Logistic Corps The Royal Logistic Corps provides logistic support functions to the British Army. It is the largest Corps in the Army. History The Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) was formed on 5 April 1993, by the union of five British Army corps: * Royal Engine ...

* April 2008 – October 2008: * October 2008 – April 2009: 32 Signal Regiment,

Royal Corps of Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communications an ...

(first deployment of a Territorial Army unit for the Operation) * April 2009 – October 2009: 23 Pioneer Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps * October 2009 – April 2010: 27 Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps * April 2010 – October 2010: 40 Signal Regiment, Royal Corps of Signals * October 2010 – April 2011: * April 2011 – October 2011: 3rd Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment * October 2011 – April 2012: 23 Pioneer Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps * April 2012 – October 2012: 29 Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps * October 2012 – April 2013: 101 Force Support Battalion,

Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME ) is the maintenance arm of the British Army that maintains the equipment that the Army uses. The corps is described as the "British Army's professional engineers". History Prior t ...

* April 2013 – October 2013: 17 Port and Maritime Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps * October 2013 – April 2014: 28 Engineer Regiment,

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

* April 2014 – October 2014: 1st Battalion,

Irish Guards The Irish Guards (IG) is one of the Foot guards#United Kingdom, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army and is part of the Guards Division. Together with the Royal Irish Regiment (1992), Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish infant ...

* October 2014 – April 2015: 2nd Battalion,

Mercian Regiment The Mercian Regiment (Cheshire, Worcesters and Foresters, and Staffords) is an infantry regiment of the British Army, which is recruited from five of the counties that formed the ancient kingdom of Mercia. Known as 'The Heart of England's Infant ...

* April 2015 – October 2015: Black Watch, 3rd Battalion,

Royal Regiment of Scotland The Royal Regiment of Scotland (SCOTS) is the British Army Order of Precedence, senior and only current Scottish regiment, Scottish line infantry Regiment#British Army, regiment of the British Army Infantry. It consists of three regular (form ...

* October 2015 – April 2016: Royal Scots Borderers, 1st Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland * April 2016 – October 2016: 36 Engineer Regiment, Royal Engineers * October 2016 – April 2017: 4th Battalion,

Duke of Lancaster's Regiment The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King's, Lancashire and Border) (LANCS) is an infantry regiment of the line within the British Army, part of the King's Division. Headquartered in Preston, it recruits throughout the North West of England. The ...

* April 2017 – October 2017: 7 Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps * October 2017 – April 2018:

Royal Scots Dragoon Guards The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys) is a light Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiment of the British Army, and the senior Scottish regiment. The regiment, through the Royal Scots Greys, is the oldest survivi ...

* April 2018 – October 2018: Royal Lancers (Queen Elizabeths' Own) * October 2018 – April 2019: 1st Battalion,

Scots Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot guards#United Kingdom, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642 in the Ki ...

* April 2019 – October 2019: 4 Regiment, Royal Artillery * October 2019 – April 2020: 27 Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps * April 2020 – October 2020: 7th Battalion,

, 5th Battalion,

and 3rd Battalion,

* October 2020 – April 2021: 6th Battalion, The Rifles * April 2021 – October 2021: 6 Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps * October 2021 – April 2022: 1st Battalion, The Rifles * April 2022 – October 2022: 21 Engineer Regiment, Royal Engineers * October 2022 – April 2023: 10 Queen's Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment RLC * April 2023 – October 2023: Household Cavalry * October 2023 – April 2024: 71 Engineer Regiment,

* April 2024 – October 2024: 4th Battalion, Parachute Regiment * October 2024 – March 2025: 5th Regiment Royal Artillery * March 2025 - present: 5th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers

British Forces Cyprus Installations

The Republic of Cyprus

In addition to the Sovereign Base Areas of

Akrotiri and Dhekelia Akrotiri and Dhekelia (), officially the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (SBA), is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory made of two non-contiguous areas on the island of Geography of Cyprus, Cyprus. The area ...

, 1960 Treaty of Establishment between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Cyprus granted the UK the right to permanently make use of 40 further sites on the island for military purposes.

Occupied Northern Cyprus

Three retained Military facilities are located within the territory of

Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the Geography of Cyprus, island of Cyprus. It is List of states with limited recognition, recognis ...

. They are not currently in use by British Forces Cyprus because the UK does not acknowledge the Government of Northern Cyprus.

Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia

The two British enclaves in the Republic of Cyprus, act as platforms for the projection of British military assets in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East. The enclaves serve as centres for regional communications monitoring from the eastern Mediterranean through the Middle East to Iran. Facilities within the retained areas also support British military activities on retained sites in the Republic of Cyprus and provide unique training opportunities. Western Sovereign Base Area Eastern Sovereign Base Area

References

External links

British Army deployment Cyprus

{{British Forces deployments

Joint commands of the United Kingdom Cyprus and the Commonwealth of Nations United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations Military of Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia