Arquus to deliver 12 Akeron-armed Sherpa vehicles to Cypriot National Guard

French military automotive specialist Arquus is to deliver 12 station wagon variants of its Sherpa 4×4 light tactical vehicle equipped with MBDA’s Akeron anti-armour missile to the Cypriot National Guard.

While it was announced in June 2024 that the Cypriot Ministry of Defence (MoD) was in advanced talks to acquire Akeron-armed Sherpas, Arquus announced on 7 May 2025 that, in the midst of the DEFEA defence exhibition taking place in Athens, France’s Directorate General of Armaments (DGA) and the Cypriot MoD had firmed up the acquisition within the framework of a strategic partnership between the two countries.

As well as providing the Sherpa vehicles, Arquus will also handle the integration of the Akeron weapon systems onto them.

“This first contract paves the way for a promising partnership between Cyprus MoD/National Guard and Arquus, with the shared ambition of reinforcing Cyprus’ defence-industrial capabilities. Arquus is delighted with this initial collaboration with Nicosia, which embodies the company’s desire to expand in the region and become a long-term partner,” Arquus stated in a press release.

“This contract also highlights the industrial partnership between Arquus and MBDA, who have collaborated to deliver a product tailored to Cyprus’ specific needs,” Arquus added. “The two companies are working together within the framework of the LynkEUs project: a Franco-Belgian-Cypriot consortium aimed at developing beyond-line-of-sight firing capabilities.”

As part of this effort, Akeron missile test firings were conducted in Cyprus in September 2022 against targets located at ranges of between 2,500 and 3,000 m, in both autonomous and collaborative configurations, to test the missile’s integration into the Sherpa platform. Both firings hit their targets beyond line of sight, demonstrating the effectiveness of the integration and leading to Cypriot interest in Akeron-armed Sherpas.