Sun's out, guns out: Competing to be the best shot in Cyprus under scorching skies
A whistle blows short and sharp.
Resting her rifle, Sergeant Maxine Cromby quickly pulls her pistol from the holster.
Aiming down range, she squeezes twice.
It's 25m away, but the sun is in her eyes and dancing across the target.
She's transitioning to her secondary weapon, after already firing the SA80.
"It can have an issue on the sight picture," she said.
"When the sun's coming in, it can cause a bit of a glint, so you have to account for that."
Shooting with an all-female British Army Combat Shooting Team, she's come to RAF Akrotiri to practice during the Cyprus Operational Shooting Competition.
For them, it's a training camp, but for units based on the island, it's one of the most competitive events of the year.
A chance to prove they're a better shot than anyone else in British Forces Cyprus.
Aim small, miss small
Firing the SA80 rifle and Glock 17, a complex set of shoots tests their marksmanship skills in different positions and distances.
Teams from across BFC have entered, including two each from the Resident Infantry Battalions, 1st Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment and 4th Royal Regiment of Scotland.
A team from RAF Akrotiri and the Joint Service Signal Unit based at Ayios Nikolaos are here too.
Organising the whole show is Warrant Officer Class 2 Carl Kelly, Command Train Advisor for the whole of British Forces Cyprus.
"These shoots are slightly harder than if you're in Brecon," he said. "You have to concentrate on your firing, but when you've got the weather conditions to think about, it has that effect on your body and mentally."
Even at the end of summer, Cyprus has barely cooled down. It's the perfect chance to practise shooting in a hot, dry climate similar to the wider region.
Every shoot is designed with soldiering in mind. The skills used down range translate directly to the battlefield.
"It allows firers to shoot operationally in a safe environment to utilise these skills if they do deploy," said WO2 Kelly.
The best shot in Cyprus
After a gruelling two days of shooting in the sun, 1PWRR's A Team took the top prize as overall winner for the Cyprus Operational Shooting Competition 2025.
"The team as a whole performed really well," said Colour Sergeant Steven Mundy, Captain of 1 PWRR A Team.
"We put in a bit of practice, a few range days."
But a final knockout round tested the shooters in a tricky way.
Sprinting 100m, the team's three best marksmen have five bullets each and nne targets to take down between them at 300m distance.
4 SCOTS, who only arrived on the island recently, claimed the victory.
"We were trying to add a bit of fun into the shoots," said Lieutenant Colonel Trev Byrne, Commanding Officer of the Small Arms School Corps.
"Shooting is one of our core skills. Everybody is a soldier first, so everybody should be able to shoot.
"I'd like to get it down at a younger audience as well as the old and bold. If they're enjoying it, it creates a culture that spreads through the unit," he said.
The best here head to the Defence Operational Shooting Competition in the UK next year, where the heat bears little consequence.
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