Israel will export air defense systems to Greece

According to a report by Reference News Network on September 3, the German weekly magazine "Die Zeit" reported on August 31 that Greece and Israel have signed a contract to jointly develop a multi-layered air defense system.

According to the Israeli Ministry of Defense, the project, codenamed "Achilles' Shield," will cost approximately 3 billion euros. This is the largest arms export agreement in the history of bilateral relations between Israel and Greece, and one of the largest arms sales projects in Israel's history.

According to Greek media reports, the project is planned to be completed within 35 months.

The "Achilles' Shield" system will integrate Greece's existing "Patriot" system and equipment such as drones with Israel's air defense systems of varying ranges, aiming to create a unified network capable of defending against aircraft, drones, rockets, and ballistic missiles. Central control software will utilize artificial intelligence to assess data from various systems, identify and classify threats, and then recommend the most suitable interceptors.

Drone defense is particularly significant. Greece aims to avoid frequently deploying expensive fighter jets to counter relatively inexpensive drones. Therefore, the new joint air defense system will select the most effective and cost-efficient interception methods based on the type of threat.

Reports indicate that in recent years, Greece and Israel have significantly strengthened their cooperation in military and defense equipment. One of the backgrounds for this is the tense relations between the two countries and Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean region. The Greek government is continuously advancing the comprehensive modernization of its existing armed forces through this new measure. (Translation/ Jiao Yu)