Greece, Cyprus and Israel are in preliminary talks on forming a joint rapid reaction force that could be activated during Eastern Mediterranean crises, according to media reports. Cyprus says no formal agreement exists.
The concept described in the reports is a brigade of roughly 2,500 personnel: 1,000 troops each from Greece and Israel and 500 from Cyprus, plus air and naval support. Planning scenarios include one fighter squadron each from the Greek and Israeli air forces and contributions ranging from Greek frigates and submarines to Israeli modern corvettes and submarines. The force would rely on facilities in Cyprus and Israel and on the Greek islands of Rhodes and Karpathos, but would be assembled for specific contingencies rather than maintained as a permanent standing unit.
Energy security is central to the discussions, with officials focused on protecting the Great Sea Interconnector, an undersea electricity cable intended to link Israel, Cyprus and Greece. The project is planned to span about 1,208 kilometers, including nearly 900 kilometers between Greece and Cyprus through contested waters, plus about 310 kilometers from Cyprus to Israel. The Greece-to-Crete section was completed in 2025, but the broader link has faced delays and intermittent suspensions amid Turkish objections.
Military contacts have intensified this month. On Dec. 18 in Nicosia, Israeli Air Force commander Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar met Greek and Cypriot counterparts to discuss operational coordination and airspace cooperation. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz also held talks with Cypriot Defense Minister Vassilis Palmas on bilateral cooperation and regional security.
Palmas said on Dec. 17-18 that “there is no official government agreement or decision” to establish a joint rapid intervention force, arguing that any move of that scale requires authorization from political leaders. The Cypriot Defense Ministry later declined to say whether the idea was raised at the air chiefs’ meeting.
Attention is now turning to a Dec. 22 leaders’ summit in Jerusalem between Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, where the interconnector and wider security cooperation are expected to feature, alongside discussions on Gaza’s postwar outlook.
The United States is not reported to be joining the proposed unit, but it is expanding cooperation through the “3+1” framework with Greece, Cyprus and Israel. In March 2025, members of Congress introduced H.R. 2510, a bill aimed at boosting counterterrorism and maritime security cooperation, joint training and exercises, intelligence sharing, and funding for projects at Cyprus’s CYCLOPS center and Greece’s Souda Bay facilities, as well as military education programs.
In parallel, energy ministers from the four countries backed an Eastern Mediterranean Energy Hub on Nov. 6 and agreed to meet again in Washington in the second quarter of 2026.
The talks come as Greece pursues a €27 billion defense modernization plan that includes Israeli-made air defenses, PULS rockets and joint exercises, while Turkey continues military modernization and disputes parts of the region’s maritime map, saying it is defending Turkish Cypriot rights.