The British defence ministry is to buy new air raid sirens for its Akrotiri air force base and the adjacent village of the same name, with the contract for their supply having been awarded to American firm Acoustic Technologies.

The contract for the sirens’ supply is worth exactly £552,239 (€644,242) over the course of five years, with the British defence ministry saying that “there is a need to supplement the air raid warning sirens that are currently in place at RAF Akrotiri”.

It added that “the requirement is for air raid warning sirens that can cover the distance of RAF Akrotiri and Akrotiri village for community warning”.

The new sirens, it said, will have “distinct alert tones” both for “air raids” and “imminent threats” and a subsequent “all-clear” siren, as well as “live and recorded voice announcement functionality”.

It said the contract “will include supply, commissioning, documentation, training, warranty and through-life support activities required to deliver and sustain the capability”.

Acoustic Technologies is based in Boston, Massachusetts, and describes itself as “a global leader in emergency communication and early warning systems” and a “trusted provider of innovative solutions that deliver clear and effective emergency notifications”.

Further details of the contract will be published within the next month, in accordance with UK law.

Akrotiri was hit by an Iranian-made drone in March

The installation of the new air raid sirens will come after a year in which Akrotiri’s political salience was more pronounced than at any time this century, with it having been hit by an Iranian-made drone on March 2.

Following the drone strike, President Nikos Christodoulides had promised upon his arrival a European Council summit in March that “we are going to have an open and frank discussion with the British government” over the future of the bases, heavily hinting that he would like to see them abolished.

That summit then ended with the European Council declaring that it stands ready to assist” the Cypriot government in discussions regarding the bases’ future and stating that it “acknowledges the intention of Cyprus to initiate a discussion with the UK” on the matter.

Later, deputy government spokesman Yiannis Antoniou said that the government had sought and received legal advice regarding the treaty which established the bases, adding that “the issue of security is complex and will be the subject of discussion with the British side”.

The UK itself had appeared to be in no mood for such a discussion, however, with country’s then parliamentary undersecretary of state for the armed forces Al Carns saying that the bases’ future is “not in question”. Carns then resigned from the government last month, saying that insufficient funds had been allocated to defence.

More recently, a group of residents of the village of Akrotiri last week staged a protest against the British government’s plans to erect as many as 68 new communications antennae near the adjacent salt lake, describing them as “antennae of death”.