Israel’s Defense Ministry announced on Aug. 31 it had signed a deal with Athens worth approximately 3 billion euros (almost $3.5 billion) to set up the “Achilles Shield” aerial defense system for Greece.
“Under the deal, Israel will build Greece a comprehensive, multi-layered air defense array, drawing entirely on Israeli-made systems and on the extensive operational experience Israel’s defense establishment has gained during the war,” the ministry said in a statement.
“This is the largest defense export deal in the history of Israel-Greece relations, and one of the largest in the history of the State of Israel,” it added.
The deal was signed by the Israeli Defense Ministry’s director general, Major General (Res.) Amir Baram, and his Greek counterpart, Ioannis Bouras, in Tel Aviv.
In a statement, the Greek Defense Ministry said the multi-billion euro purchase was part of “the greatest reform of its armed forces in its history.”
Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias was quoted in the statement as saying that recent technological developments “have long rendered existing defense doctrines completely obsolete.”
“Greece is the first country in the European Union to adopt” a multi-layered air defense system such as the Israeli one, he added.
According to the Israeli Defense Ministry, the export deal includes the David’s Sling, Barak MX and SPYDER interception systems, air surveillance radars and “a new national command and control system.”
All the equipment is manufactured by Israeli defense contractors Rafael and Israel Aerospace Industries and its subsidiary ELTA Systems.
A supplementary 26-million-euro deal was also signed to provide Greece with Rafael’s defense systems against drones, the ministry said.
“Israel and Greece share common strategic interests and face shared regional challenges,” said Defense Minister Israel Katz, quoted in the statement.
“At a time when actors with hegemonic ambitions are seeking to expand their influence and undermine stability in the region, Israel and Greece will continue to deepen their defense and strategic cooperation,” he said, in a likely reference to Türkiye.
Greece is now one of only four European NATO members to spend at least three percent of GDP on its military, amid decades of tensions with neighboring Türkiye.
Israel has also increasingly locked horns with Türkiye, having struck a disused military base in northwest Syria, claiming it wanted to avert Turkish troops deploying to the facility.
