Israel and Greece signed a $3.5 billion defense agreement Monday under which Jerusalem will construct a complete, multi-layered air defense network for Athens, marking the largest defense export deal in the history of Israeli-Greek relations.
The roughly €3 billion government-to-government agreement, called “Achilles Shield” in Greece, is one of the largest deals Israel has ever signed and the first time Israel has agreed to supply another nation an entire integrated air defense architecture, according to the Israeli Defense Ministry. The system is designed to counter ballistic missiles, aircraft and drones.
The network will combine several Israeli systems: David’s Sling for advanced missile interception, Rafael’s mobile SPYDER system against aircraft and aerial threats, and Israel Aerospace Industries’ BARAK MX multi-layered air and missile defense system. It will also include ELTA Systems’ MMR multi-mission radars and a new Rafael-built national command-and-control system to tie the layers together.
A separate €26 million agreement signed the same day will supply Greece with Rafael’s Drone Dome counter-UAV systems to guard strategic sites. The broader package also includes expanded industrial cooperation and transfers of Israeli technology to Greek defense firms, with Greek companies expected to receive roughly €700 million in subcontracting work from Rafael and IAI.
A Shared Rival, Unnamed but Unmistakable
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz framed the deal in terms of common threats facing both nations.
“Israel and Greece share common strategic interests and face shared regional challenges,” Katz said. “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, and will act with determination to preserve stability and safeguard their security and shared interests.”
Katz did not name Turkey directly, but the timing is difficult to ignore. Greece and Turkey are both NATO members yet remain longstanding rivals over territorial and maritime disputes in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean. Relations between Israel and Turkey, meanwhile, have deteriorated sharply under Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias has repeatedly cited Turkey as a driver of Athens’ military buildup, calling the country last month “a clear and well defined threat.” The rivalry has spilled into Syria as well, where Israel and Turkey are jostling for influence following the collapse of the Assad regime. Israel struck a Syrian airbase earlier this month, saying the strike was meant to stop Turkish forces from establishing a presence there.
Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli was blunter than Katz in linking the agreement to Ankara.
“A strong Israel-Greece-Cyprus alliance is the right answer to Erdogan’s Islamist, neo-Ottoman aggression,” Chikli wrote Monday. “Today this alliance grew stronger.”
Part of a Larger Buildup
Athens approved the Achilles Shield procurement framework in July as part of a $31.8 billion modernization of the Greek military running through 2036. Dendias has said the new air defense network should be fully operational within 35 months. Israeli media reports indicate SPYDER batteries will be stationed across Greek islands as part of the rollout.
Turkey, for its part, is pursuing its own roughly $6.5 billion “Steel Dome” program, a domestically produced multi-layered defense network against aircraft, drones and ballistic threats. Erdogan has said the system “will instill confidence in friends and fear in enemies.”
The Achilles Shield agreement also lands amid a broader surge in demand for Israeli military technology, following years in which the country’s missile defense systems have been tested repeatedly against attacks from Iran and its proxies. Israeli defense exports hit a record of more than $19 billion in 2025, up roughly 30 percent from the year before.
Baram said deals of this magnitude carry benefits beyond diplomacy. “Government-to-government deals at this scale are more than diplomatic and economic wins — they drive the expansion of Israel’s production lines, build up stockpiles, and strengthen the country’s munitions independence,” he said.
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