Israel signs €3 billion Achilles Shield air defence deal with Greece

Telaviv,UPDATED: Aug 31, 2026 17:22 IST

Israel on Monday signed a nearly 3 billion Euro defence export deal with Greece, the biggest weapons agreement between the two Mediterranean countries, as Israeli arms sales continue to rise. The deal, named Achilles Shield, includes a multilayered air defence system for Greece using Israeli technology.

The agreement comes as Israel's defence exports hit record levels. Official data showed exports crossed USD 19 billion last year, up 30 per cent from 2024, despite criticism of Israel's conduct in its wars in Gaza, with Hezbollah and with Iran.

Israel's Defence Ministry said the deal is worth nearly USD 3.5 billion and is among the country's largest defence export agreements. Defence 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."

Experts say governments turn to Israel because its weapons are battle-tested and they can see in real time that the munitions and systems work. Israel and Greece have steadily expanded defence ties over the past decade, but Monday's signing is their most significant deal so far. It comes as Greece moves to modernise its armed forces to keep pace with neighbour and fellow NATO member Turkiye amid long-running disputes over sea boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean.

Earlier agreements between the two sides included a USD 1.65 billion deal with Israeli defence company Elbit to build a flight training school in southern Greece, along with the planned sale of Israeli rocket launchers, anti-tank guided missiles and drones.

Israel said the agreement marks the first time it will provide a full range of defence weapons against threats from ballistic missiles to drones. The package includes systems such as David Sling and SPYDER, along with a new national command and control system. It also said a complementary deal worth USD 30 million, or 26 million Euros, was signed for the sale of Rafael's Drone Dome systems.

After the agreement was signed, Greece's Defence Minister Nikos Dendias said, "Modern conflicts have already altered the parameters of military defence 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 defence doctrines completely unrealistic."

More than half of the Israeli arms industry's sales now come from missiles, rockets and air-defence systems. In March, the Stockholm Peace Research Institute said Israel had, for the first time, overtaken the United Kingdom in global arms exports, making it the world's seventh-largest supplier. The Greece deal underlines both the growing defence relationship between the two countries and the strong demand for Israeli air-defence systems.

With PTI Inputs

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