The 3rd PHASE-“Search and Rescue (SAR) Operations”, of the Multinational Civil-Military Cooperation (CIMIC) Exercise “ARGONAUT-2018” executed on Thursday, the 24th of May 2018, within the Search and Rescue Region (SRR) of the Republic of Cyprus, which coincides with the FIR Nicosia.

The night SAR exercise scenario deals with severe Air accident of a Civilian Passenger Aircraft at open sea during the transportation of civilians from a State in crisis in the Middle East to Larnaca International Airport.

Specifically, ten (10) Air SAR and eleven (11) Naval Units as well as personnel of the Republic of Cyprus as the Host Nation, Greece, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America, participated in the SAR PHASE of the Exercise “ARGONAUT-2018”, under the operational control and coordination of the Joint Rescue Coordination Center (JRCC) in Larnaca.

The coordination of the SAR operations as well as the Crisis Management were carried out from the Coordination Center, “Zenon”, at which the «Crisis Management Coordinating Team» was summoned. The Coordinating Team consisted by representatives of all the involved State Services of the Republic of Cyprus, is responsible for dealing with SAR incidents that require Massive Rescue Operations of civilians transported on ships from war zone. The JRCC Larnaca, the involved agencies of the Republic and the aeronautical means and personnel of the participating friendly states, have shown their high level of preparedness in order to deal with any unforeseen situation or SAR incident in case of crisis and evacuation operations from the Middle East, as well as emergencies that might occur during maritime activities.