Why has Greece signed a $3.5bn missile deal with Israel?

Greece has signed a $3.5 billion weapons agreement with Israel that will deliver a multi‑layered air‑defence system, dubbed the “Achilles Shield,” to Athens. The deal, finalized on Monday in Tel Aviv, represents the largest defence contract ever between the two nations and includes multi‑mission radars, an artificial‑intelligence‑enabled command centre and a supplementary €26 million purchase of drone‑dome systems. Full operational capability is slated for within 35 months, and the agreement forms part of a broader Greek modernisation plan that foresees €28 billion in defence spending by 2036, encompassing up to 40 U.S.‑made F‑35 fighters and new frigates from France and Italy.

Analysts link the procurement to Greece’s growing anxiety over regional security threats, particularly the fallout from the U.S.–Israel conflict with Iran and Turkey’s expanding drone capabilities. Greece hosts American naval bases that could become Iranian targets, prompting officials like security‑policy expert Wolfgang Pusztai to argue that a robust, cost‑effective system such as Israel’s David Sling is preferable to the increasingly scarce U.S. Patriot missiles, which have already faced delivery delays to Europe. Simultaneously, strained Greek‑Turkish relations over disputed maritime zones in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean, coupled with Turkey’s criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza, have heightened Athens’ desire to fortify its airspace, especially in the Aegean where the first elements of the shield are expected to be deployed.

The agreement has provoked a mixed reaction domestically and regionally. While the Greek government under Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis frames the deal as essential for national security, significant portions of the public and opposition figures express unease about deepening ties with Israel amid its war in Gaza; a Pew poll shows 76 percent of Greeks distrust Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s global conduct. Turkish officials have yet to comment, but Turkish analysts have already warned that Greece’s procurement makes it “co‑responsible” for Israel’s actions in the occupied territories. The deal also reinforces a growing trilateral security nexus among Greece, Israel and Cyprus, a partnership that Ankara views as a strategic challenge to its maritime ambitions in the region.

⚡ Effects Interpreter