Greece inks $3.4B deal for multi-layered Israeli air defense system

JERUSALEM — Israel and Greece signed a $3.4 billion (€3 billion) deal for air defense systems today at the Israel Ministry of Defense headquarters in Tel Aviv. 

Dubbed Achilles’ Shield in Greece, the multi-layered air defense system is expected to expand Israel’s industrial defense cooperation with Greece and shore up supply chains. The deal has been widely expected over the last several months. 

In a statement, Greek Minister of National Defense Nikos Dendias called Achilles’ Shield “an important link in the reform of the Armed Forces and an imperative response to the geopolitical and technological challenges of our time.”

Dendias added that Achilles’ Shield will be “a holistic deterrence system.” 

“Ships, aircraft, land assets, autonomous systems, new satellites, and more generally, every platform equipped with sensors, are integrated into a single network-centric architecture,” he said.

The Israel Ministry of Defense said the deal marks the first time it will supply a complete defense array to combat a range of threats, from ballistic missiles to small drones. 

“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. 

The agreement includes the medium-range David’s Sling, which was developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems with US support. David’s Sling had its first combat interception in 2023 and has also been sold to Finland. Israel Aerospace Industries’s Barak MX, which has been sold to a number of international customers, will also be supplied. In addition, Rafael’s Spyder air defense system is part of the deal. Romania also acquired Spyder in a multi-billion-dollar deal in June. 

In addition to the air defense systems, Greece is also acquiring MMR radars that are made by IAI’s subsidiary Elta. The Czech Republic and Slovakia both use similar Israeli-made radars. 

The deal is the largest in the history of Israel-Greece defense sales, and “will expand industrial defense cooperation with Greece, including the transfer of knowledge and technology to the local industry,” the Israel Ministry of Defense said. 

Israeli firms have inked other major sales in Greece, including Elbit Systems’s development of an International Flight Training Center in Kalamata. Defense cooperation between the two countries, including joint exercises, has increased in recent years as Israel sees Greece as a strategic partner in the Eastern Mediterranean.

“It’s a direct application of the Ministry’s strategy: growing defense exports as a key driver of IDF force buildup, of Israel’s foreign policy influence, and of a stronger national defense industry and economy,” Major. Gen. Amir Baram, director-general of the Israeli Ministry of Defense, said in a statement. 

Baram said the deal will also drive the expansion of Israel’s production lines and help build up stockpiles — both of which have been stressed for Western nations amid the Ukraine and Iran wars.

IAI Chairman Boaz Levy noted that the deal comes after his firm spent recent years “deepening its activity in Greece, working alongside local partners and deploying some of the most advanced technologies in the world.” 

“IAI’s operational air defense systems proved their capabilities in the recent fighting against Iran and its proxies, successfully intercepting a range of threats, chief among them exo-atmospheric ballistic missiles,” Levy added. 

IAI officials also noted that Greece’s choice of the IAI systems builds on the firm’s other activities in Europe, including the sale of its Arrow air defense system to Germany in a $6.5 billion deal.