Speech Addressing the Emerging Defence Ecosystem in Cyprus

Your Excellency, Mr. Nikos Christodoulides, President of the Republic of Cyprus,

Your Excellencies, Ambassadors

Honorable Mr. George Komodromos, Acting Permanent Secretary of the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy

Esteemed Ms. Anna Aristotelous, Acting Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Defence,

Esteemed Mr. Stavros Stavrou, President of the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a privilege to stand before you today at the Cyprus international Defence and Security conference.  As Chief Scientist for Research, Innovation, and Technology of the Republic of Cyprus, and as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Research and Innovation Foundation that proudly sponsors this event, i would like to highlight the significant progress that has been achieved since 2019 with the focus of Cypriot innovation companies focusing in dual-use technologies and solutions ranging from electronics and sensors to robotics and autonomous systems.

Today, the Cyprus defence ecosystem is comprised of a cluster of 30 companies, which have in recent years participated in 7 European projects with global collaborators such as the France’s MBDA, Italia’s Leonardo, Sweden’s BAE SYSTEMS and many more.

Cyprus is proud to host an ecosystem with capabilities that center around research and development, product development, testing and deployment in the areas of signal processing, system on module, autonomous technologies and advance materials, levering the expertise and know-how to help prepare the readiness of the Cypriot defence ecosystem, to undertake the new and emerging challenges and threads.

Cypriot companies within the defence ecosystem have demonstrated their ability to meet today’s challenges with their products. A prime example is the Swarmly’s  H10 Poseidon, a combat-proven vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), and AmaDema’s advanced materials solutions for armour systems. Additionally, CyRIC has developed innovative electronics systems for security and defence, while SignalGeneriX has made significant strides in directional RF pathfinding solutions with its RF-Hunter, Cellock’s autonomous drone solutions  These examples highlight the robust capabilities and innovative spirit of Cypriot defence companies.

In the rapidly evolving landscape of modern warfare, we find ourselves at the cusp of a technological revolution. To this extent, the European Union through its Strategic Compass for Security and Defence has outlined several key priorities for strengthening its defence strategy that include: Investments in advanced defence technologies, Enhancing Preparedness and Crisis Management, Strengthening Common Borders and Managing Migration Fairly and Firmly.  These focus areas require both an advanced research ecosystem that thrives on innovation and operational excellence.

The traditional paradigms of intelligence and military strategy are being transformed by advancements in autonomous systems, real-time intelligence, and the integration of artificial intelligence across all domains and parts of the supply chain leading to new solutions and use cases that were not thought possible.  In the past 5 years, technology and intelligence has played a major role of how conflicts have been addressed leading to the creation of a new of tools and utilities to address emerging threats, however also increasing the number of threats to be dealt with ranging from misinformation to defending against swarms of drones.

The European strategy has created new opportunities for innovators and SMEs to further offer solutions to emerging use cases which focus amongst others on Cybersecurity to protect critical infrastructure and sensitive data from cyber threats, Artificial Intelligence to enhance decision-making processes in both civilian and military contexts, medical countermeasures that focus on preparing for public health threats with joint procurement and stockpiling, energy security ensuring a stable and secure energy supply, and command control platforms for autonomous decision support guidance, and intervention systems.

Europe as a continent is placing strategic emphasis on developing Dual-Use Technologies, which have both civilian and military applications.  As Chief scientist I strongly welcome this approach as such investments are driven by the need to increase the local know-how across disciplines, achieve technological sovereignty, and reduce dependency on foreign technology.

The European Defence Fund (EDF) and Horizon Europe are key programs supporting this effort.  The development of the Cypriot defence cluster, is paving the way to creation of next generation technologies that have the capability of building defence platform products, and capabilities creating new high paying job opportunities across Chip design, advanced materials, cyberwarfare and radio jamming, autonomous technologies for mission critical devices amongst others ensuring that Cyprus participates in the growth of the European defence market which is estimated at USD 10.45 billion and is expected to reach USD 12.80 billion by 2029.  The defence electronics, which encompasses chips, system on module (SoM), and other related technologies, is valued globally over USD 230 billion projected to grow at a CAGR of around 5%.

The global dynamics coupled with the continuous change in technology simply accelerate and amplify the need for the Cypriot innovation and defence cluster to increase their focus on dual-use technologies preparing Cyprus for sustainability, resilience and readiness to protect its interests and those of our citizens.  The Research and Innovation Foundation has consistently supported the Ministry of Defence, starting with its role in designing the initial funding programs – such as ATHINA act – run by the Ministry. Later, under the National Resilience and Recovery Fund, the Research and Innovation Foundation worked closely with the Ministry to secure €3 million in funding, which now administers. This funding has been instrumental in developing Dual-Use Technologies in key priority areas identified by the Ministry of Defence, contributing to the growth of capabilities within our national research and innovation ecosystem. Furthermore, Research and Innovation Foundation is also funding the creation of classified labs, built to specific standards, which will enable local stakeholders to participate in European Defence Fund projects. The call for applications remains open, and we encourage interested parties to apply for funding.

Together, with our partners and stakeholders, the Research innovation foundation will continue its support for programs that develop the competency, capacity, capability of the ecosystem focused on outcome-based solutions and platforms that can be leveraged in the market arena as part of the broader European defence vision.

In conclusion, the evolving nature of warfare demands a collaborative approach to national security. Cyprus, with its strong research and innovation ecosystem, is uniquely positioned to contribute to this effort.

I would like to thank the organizers of the Cyprus International Defence and Security Conference, and the President of the Cyprus Defence Company Cluster for making this event happen.

Thank you.