WASHINGTON — Greece’s defense minister announced today that his government has approved the purchase of more than €3 billion-worth ($3.4 billion) of air defense systems, mostly reportedly from Israel, as part of Athens’ Achilles’ Shield initiative.
Nikos Dendias noted the approval among a list of planned acquisitions that also included American and Israeli drones and Embraer-made C-390 transport planes, according to Reuters and an online translation of his remarks.
For Achilles’ Shield, Dendias did not identify specific systems but said the goal would be to create a “range of weapons that create overlapping shields across the entire Greek territory, with an integrated command-and-control system.” He said the different capabilities would be delivered “in stages,” but the whole enterprise should be ready 35 months “from today.”
Greek and Israeli news outlets previously reported that, should the plan proceed, Athens was expected to purchase most of the air defense platforms from Jerusalem, including the Rafael-made David’s Sling and radars from ELTA, an Israel Aerospace Industries subsidiary. As far back as November 2024 Reuters reported that the two nations were in talks to replicate much of Israel’s air defense strategy amid a wider push by Greece to modernize its military.
Dendias did not name Israel in his initial remarks, but after a question from reporters at a briefing, he assured them that the plan was not just to purchase systems from Israel, but to include the production of Israeli systems in Greece. Some €700 million of the air defense pot, he suggested, would go to Greek industry.
Greece is one of several nations racing to develop a sprawling air defense “shield,” from America’s Golden Dome to Turkey’s Steel Dome, meant to defend against growing threats from missiles, rockets and, especially, one-way drones. Most designs are generally based on Israel’s vaunted air defense system sometimes referred to as Iron Dome. (The Iron Dome platform is actually the lowest tier in a three-tiered air defense system, with the Arrow and David’s Sling making up the top and middle tiers, respectively.)
Elsewhere in his remarks, Dendias said the government had approved the purchase of 10 V-Bat surveillance drones, made by US firm Shield AI, to complement the four the Greek armed forces already have. Greece will also purchase an Israeli-made Heron UAV.
As for the C-390s, Dendias said Greece would acquire three of the transport planes from Portugal, with the first delivery expected next year.
