Senior air force commanders from Greece, Israel and Cyprus held a confidential meeting in Nicosia on Wednesday, reportedly regarding further security cooperation.

According to Israel’s KAN News, Israeli air force chief, Major General Tomer Bar, met with senior officers of the Greek and Cypriot air forces to discuss operational coordination.

The talks primarily focused on deterring Turkey’s military capabilities and expanding influence in the region.

Participants reportedly exchanged assessments of the evolving security environment and examined options for closer cooperation, including joint exercises and enhanced operational readiness.

The meeting comes amid wider discussions in Athens, Nicosia and Tel Aviv regarding significantly closer military cooperation, including the possible creation of a joint rapid reaction force.

According to Greek newspaper Ta Nea, senior Greek military officers and defence analysts are examining scenarios that until recently were considered “operationally ambitious”.

These deliberations reflect heightened concern in Athens over the rapid modernisation and expansion of Turkish military might, particularly in the air and at sea.

At the centre of the plans under consideration is the establishment of a ‘joint brigade rapid reaction force’ with a total strength of approximately ‘2,500 personnel’.

Greece and Israel would each contribute 1,000 troops, with Cyprus providing a contingent of roughly 500.

The force would be supported by one squadron from the Greek air force and one from the Israeli air force.

The proposed unit would have access to key naval and air infrastructure across the Levant, including facilities on the Greek island of Rhodes, Cyprus and Israel.

Greece intends to contribute a frigate and a submarine, while Israel would deploy one of its new generation corvettes alongside a submarine.

Israeli security analyst Shai Gal argues that key infrastructure across the Eastern Mediterranean remains vulnerable in a maritime zone shaped by competing stakes, including Turkey’s own “Blue Homeland” doctrine.

Gal remarked that the main arena of strategic competition has increasingly shifted from land to open waters, where ‘energy and data lifelines linking Europe are concentrated’.

He drew comparisons with the Baltic Sea, where the suspected sabotage of the Nord Stream pipeline forced European governments to reassess maritime security vulnerabilities.

Gal warned that the proposed GSI cable should not wait for a comparable shock before developing coordinated mechanisms for protection and response.