Greece has finalized a landmark defense agreement with Israel, securing a $3.5 billion multi-layered air defense system. The deal, signed Monday in Tel Aviv, marks the largest military procurement in the history of bilateral relations between the two nations.
The agreement comes amid deteriorating relations between Greece and its neighbor and rival, Turkey. It also breaks with broader European caution regarding close ties with Israel, following the genocidal war in Gaza and Israel's increasingly overt efforts to annex the occupied West Bank.
Greece and Israel have long shared economic and diplomatic ties, regularly conducting joint military exercises. The new purchase is part of Greece's plans to modernize its military by 2030, with Athens allocating approximately €28 billion ($32 billion) by 2036 for the Israeli defense system, known collectively as the Achilles Shield, as well as up to 40 F-35 fighter jets from the United States and frigates from France and Italy.
The Achilles Shield, negotiated over three years, will be delivered in stages and is scheduled to reach full operational readiness within 35 months. According to the Israeli Ministry of Defense, the system comprises three core components: air defense, missile defense, and counter-drone systems. Israel will also deliver multi-mission radars for air surveillance and an AI-enabled command center integrating all technologies.
A supplementary deal worth €26 million ($30 million) will see Israel sell Greece drone dome systems as well.
Analysts say Greece is increasingly concerned about threats posed by the US-Israel war on Iran, especially as Tehran has launched strikes on US allies in the Gulf. "One needs to be aware that Greece is the host of American naval bases and those might become in the future a target for the Iranians," Wolfgang Pusztai, a security policy analyst and former Austrian defense attaché in Greece, told Al Jazeera. "This is a capability that Greece and other European countries might need in the case that Iran is threatening them, too."
While the US Patriot defense system is highly coveted, several European nations have been turning to Israel's David Sling, which is cheaper and more effective, Pusztai said. The US itself is also running critically low on Patriots, with Switzerland recently informed of delays and cost increases amid the war on Iran.
Greece is also wary of Turkey's increasing drone capabilities. Ankara and Athens have long sparred over maritime boundaries in the Aegean Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean. Tensions between Turkey and Israel are also rising over Israel's genocide in Gaza. "This is certainly a reason why Greece will deploy the first elements of the Achilles Shield in the Aegean," Pusztai added.
Turkey has not yet reacted to the new defense deal. The growing military relationship between Greece, Israel, and Cyprus—with which Turkey also has territorial tensions—has previously drawn negative reactions from Ankara. Al Jazeera's John Psaropoulos reported from Athens that Turkish analysts are already discussing how Greece's procurement makes it co-responsible for Israel's actions in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.
Cyprus was the first to buy Israel's Barak defense system in December, drawing condemnation from Turkish defense commentators. Retired Rear Admiral Cem Gurdeniz, a proponent of Turkey's "Blue Homeland" doctrine, called the Greek Cypriot administration "a complete proxy for the US and Israel."
In Greece, public opposition to Israel's genocide in Gaza and deepening ties with Israel is significant. A Pew Research Center poll released in June found that 76% of Greeks do not believe Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will do the right thing regarding world affairs. Opposition figures and intellectuals have loudly criticized Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis's strengthening relations with Israel, accusing Israel of seeking to use Greece as a proxy. Former Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis posted on X: "The transformation of Greece into an Israeli satellite is proceeding at breakneck speed. This bodes ill for the majority of Greeks, for peace in our region and for Europe and West Asia more broadly. It must be resisted."
Source: www.aljazeera.com