With help from U.S. taxpayers, Cyprus is upgrading key military installations to strengthen the mission it has carved for itself as a safe haven in the eastern Mediterranean for evacuees from the conflict-wracked Middle East and as a humanitarian aid hub.
Cyprus' main Evangelos Florakis naval base, just 142 miles (229 kilometers) from Lebanon’s coast, will get a new, U.S. European Command-funded heliport that will be able to accommodate large, Chinook-type transport helicopters for airlifting evacuees out of conflict zones.
