On 1st October, a military parade held in Nicosia, the capital city of Cyprus, to commemorate the 59th anniversary of the country’s independence provided the opportunity to see newly-bought Serbian-made Nora-B52 155 mm/52-calibre 8x8 self-propelled howitzers and BOV M16 Miloš 4x4 armored vehicles.
Yugoimport Nora B-52 self-propelled howitzer (Picture source: Cyprus)
A Miloš followed by four Nora-B52s (named ‘Alexander TGS’ in Cyprus), both vehicle types being manufactured by the Serbian company Yugoimport, were displayed in public for the first time. Cypriot Defense Minister Savvas Angelides said that the Cypriot National Guard is being upgraded and he thanked a number of his guests, including his Greek counterpart, Defence Minister Nikos Papagiotopoulos, for Athens’ constant support, as well as Serbian Defence Minister Aleksandar Vulin for his country’s practical co-operation, Igor Bozinovski reports.
While few details of Nicosia’s acquisition of Serbian-made weapons exist, Belgrade-based media have reported that Serbia has sold to Cyprus 24 Nora-B52s and eight Miloš artillery reconnaissance and battery command vehicles to equip four artillery batteries in a deal worth almost EUR 50 million (USD54.8 million). According to the reports, the first battery of six Nora-B52s for Cyprus would be completed in August.
The Nora-B52 The NORA B-52 is fitted with 155-mm / L52 gun-howitzer. It is a further development of the Yugoslavian M84 NORA A gun-howitzer. The NORA B-52 fires all standard NATO 155-mm ammunition. It is fitted with an automatic gun loader enabling the rate of fire of 6 rounds per minute. The vehicle carries a total of 36 rounds. Autoloader holds 12 rounds. The maximum firing range is 20 km with an ordinary projectile and 41 km with a rocket-assisted projectile.
The Milosh BOV M16 4x4 is a multi-purpose armored vehicle fully developed and produced by the Serbian state-owned defense company Yugoimport SDPR. It was unveiled for the first time at the International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) held in Abu Dhabi, UAE, in February 2017. The Milosh 4x4 can be used either for patrol missions, reconnaissance, command, transportation and support, ambulance, anti-terrorism, etc. The design of the Milosh 4x4 is based on a monocoque hull using modern power pack and transmission, and independent suspension system which ensures high mobility in any terrain conditions. The Milosh 4x4 is fitted with a RCWS (Remotely Controlled Weapon System) which can be armed with a 12.7mm machine gun, automatic grenade launchers, long-range anti-tank guided missile systems, air-defense rocket systems. The turret is also equipped with optoelectronic thermal imaging, laser range finder, day/night sight and TV/radar system which can be used for border control and surveillance.
Yugoimport BOV M16 Miloš (Picture source: Cyprus MoD)
