Seven Royal Navy warships and auxiliaries, together with embarked Royal Marines and helicopters, will converge on waters off the British Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus this week for a series of naval exercises designed to demonstrate the versatile capabilities and high readiness of the Response Force Task Group (RFTG).

Exercise Cypriot Lion combines air defence exercises and live firings out at sea with amphibious exercises in coastal waters involving Royal Marines of 3 Commando Brigade.

It will be the first major exercise of the complete RFTG in the Cougar 11 deployment.