Israel Signs €3 Billion Air Defense Arms Deal With Greece, Its Largest With Athens

Israel signed a defense export deal with Greece worth 3 billion euros (about $3.5 billion), the largest between the two Mediterranean countries, Israel’s Defense Ministry said on Monday. The deal, called Achilles Shield, is one of the largest in Israel’s history, according to the ministry, and includes a multilayered air defense system for Greece built on Israeli technology.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said: “Israel and Greece share common strategic interests and face shared regional challenges. At a time when actors with hegemonic ambitions are seeking to expand their influence and undermine stability in the region.”

The Associated Press reported that Israeli weapons exports reached record highs last year, with more than $19 billion in sales, a 30% increase from 2024, according to official data. The report noted widespread criticism of Israel’s conduct in its wars in Gaza, with Hezbollah and with Iran. Experts quoted in the report said governments look to Israel because its weapons are battle-tested and buyers can see in real time that the munitions and systems work. More than half of the Israeli arms industry’s sales are for missiles, rockets and air-defense systems.

Israel and Greece have deepened defense ties over the past decade, according to the report. Greece is modernizing its armed forces to keep pace with neighboring Turkey, a fellow NATO member, amid long-standing disputes over sea boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean. Earlier agreements included a $1.65 billion deal with Israeli defense contractor Elbit to build a flight training school in southern Greece, and the planned sale of Israeli rocket launchers, anti-tank guided missiles and drones.

Israel said the new agreement is the first in which it will provide a complete array of defense weapons against a range of threats, from ballistic missiles to drones. It includes several Israeli systems, including David Sling and SPYDER, as well as a new national command and control system. A complementary deal worth $30 million (26 million euros) was also signed for the sale of Rafael’s Drone Dome systems, the ministry said. Rafael is an Israeli defense company.

Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias said in a statement after the signing: “Modern conflicts have already altered the parameters of military defense and deterrence. Technology, ballistic missiles, satellite communications, unmanned systems, cyber threats, hybrid forms of warfare and the interconnection of fields of operations have long rendered preexisting defense doctrines completely unrealistic.”

Separately, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, with defense, energy and regional developments at the center of their talks, according to the source. The meeting lasted more than 30 minutes. Netanyahu welcomed Greece’s decision to acquire Israeli defense systems, and the leaders discussed Eastern Mediterranean energy cooperation and preparations for a new trilateral summit between Greece, Cyprus and Israel.

For the first time, Israel has surpassed the United Kingdom in its share of global arms exports, making it the world’s seventh-biggest supplier, according to a March report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

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