Click to see full-size image. (Israeli Defense Ministry)
Greece and Israel are set to sign agreements next week in Tel Aviv launching the “Achilles’ Shield,” a multibillion-euro air defense project that Greek officials call a major step in modernizing the country’s defenses, Kathimerini reported on August 28.
The agreements will be signed on August 31 by Greece’s General Directorate for Defense Investments and Armaments, part of the Ministry of National Defense, and SIBAT, the Defense Cooperation Directorate of Israel’s Ministry of Defense. Once signed, the contracts will start a 35-month countdown to complete the project.
Sources at Greece’s Ministry of National Defense told the Greek news outlet that outstanding issues were resolved in recent days, including provisions guaranteeing 25 percent Greek industrial participation and the transfer of source code, which is meant to ensure Greek armed forces retain control of the software running the network.
The project is expected to cost a total of 3.1 billion euros. Twelve Greek companies are expected to take part, carrying out work valued at more than 700 million euros.
The system is designed to combine existing Greek assets — including Patriot long-range air defense systems and drones already deployed on islands and the mainland — with Israeli-made air defense systems. The latter include Rafael’s Spyder short-range systems; Israel Aerospace Industries’ Barak MX systems for medium-range threats; and David’s Sling, which intercepts ballistic missiles and other long-range threats.
Greek defense officials cited by Kathimerini said the network will run on artificial intelligence-based software that identifies and classifies potential threats and recommends the most effective means of interception.
The software will link subsystems responsible for ballistic missile defense, drone countermeasures, and broader air defense operations, evaluating data without human intervention and indicating the optimal response.
The officials also revealed that the project could help reduce costs by matching responses to the type of aerial threat involved.
Defense ties between Greece and Israel have expanded steadily over the past several years into a multifaceted partnership.
In 2021, Elbit Systems secured a long-term contract to operate and modernize the International Flight Training Center in Kalamata, giving the Israeli firm a sustained presence at a major Greek air base and providing the Hellenic Air Force with upgraded trainer aircraft and simulators.
Greece has since acquired Rafael’s Spike NLOS anti-tank missiles for island defense, and in late 2025 its parliament approved the purchase of 36 Elbit PULS multiple-launch rocket systems.
The two countries also operate a joint air training arrangement on Greek soil, conduct annual naval and air exercises. In addition, they signed frameworks for special-operations training, electronic-warfare cooperation, and counter-drone technology sharing.
Also in 2025, Greece, Cyprus, and Israel formalized a trilateral Joint Action Plan covering these areas, with Israeli lessons from recent conflicts — particularly against drones and saturation aerial attacks — explicitly included.
This deepening alignment is viewed in Ankara as directed against Turkish interests. Turkey has repeatedly stated that it is “closely monitoring” Greek military activities and the Greece–Israel–Cyprus partnership, which Turkish officials describe as an attempt at strategic encirclement and a challenge to Ankara’s “Blue Homeland” maritime claims in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean.
Greek purchases of Israeli systems capable of defending islands close to the Turkish coast, combined with improved early-warning and layered interception capabilities, are seen by Turkish defense planners as altering the regional military balance.
The cooperation therefore functions both as a practical force-multiplier for Greece’s long-standing deterrence posture toward Turkey and as a strategic counterweight that Ankara regards with open suspicion.
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