French marines in the last days carried out a military exercise named Ariadni-23 along with several units of the Cypriot National Guard.

According to a post released on Tuesday by the French embassy in Cyprus, the exercise was organised to strengthen the cooperation between the two countries in the field of defence.

A French Mistral military helicopter also flew to the island to take part in the activities. According to a statement released by the defence ministry, Ariadni-23 is part of the bilateral defence cooperation programme stipulated between Cyprus and France and “is particularly beneficial as it provides an opportunity to test the National Guard personnel and to improve its efficiency in different scenarios and situations.”

In particular, the exercise included, among other things, training for battle in densely populated areas, carrying out tactical communications and data exchange and assessing air preparedness.