Achilles Shield: Israel, Greece sign over NIS 10b. air defense deal against Turkey, Iran

Israel and Greece signed a defense deal worth over NIS 10 billion ($3.48 billion), under which Israel would build a "multi-layered" defense system for Greece, the Defense Ministry announced in a Monday statement. 

The statement said a supplementary deal valued at 26 million euros would see Israel sell Greece drone dome systems.

The agreement, negotiated over three years, will become the largest defense export deal in Israel’s history.

Most of the funds will go to Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, which will supply Greece with David’s Sling systems designed to intercept heavy rockets and ballistic missiles, as well as mobile SPYDER systems designed to counter unmanned aerial vehicles and drones.

Israel Aerospace Industries will provide the Barak MX system, which is designed to defend against aircraft and missiles.

Deal will include deploying SPYDER batteries to Greek islands

The agreement also includes a national-level command-and-control center to operate the systems and manage launches, similar to the system used in Israel. The center will incorporate artificial intelligence capabilities.

Greek companies are expected to receive about €700 million of the deal’s total value as subcontractors for Rafael and IAI.

The project is known in Greece as “Achilles Shield” and will include deploying SPYDER batteries on Greek islands, including popular vacation destinations visited by many Israelis.

The largest defense export deal in Israel’s history to date was IAI’s first export sale of the Arrow 3 missile defense system to Germany, worth $3.5 billion, signed in 2023.