Athens is reinforcing its defenses while hoping its allies in the United States will prevent neighboring Türkiye from strengthening its military, pursuing a key defense deal with Israel while opposing the sale of fighter jets to Türkiye.
Turkish-Greek relations have been on the right track for the past couple of years, but tensions remain palpable, especially in light of Athens' escalating defense spending. This is tied to what Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis described as an "open threat of war" from Türkiye during the NATO summit in Ankara earlier this month.
Weeks after his remarks, Greece's Government Council for Foreign Affairs and Defense (KYSEA) convened on Thursday to give final approval for the purchase of a multilayered air defense system from Israel worth up to 3.5 billion euros ($4 billion), along with several types of drones, two sources told Reuters. KYSEA gave its initial approval earlier this year and is expected to finalize the procurement contracts, an official familiar with the deal told Reuters.
Greece wants to build a multilayered anti-ballistic, anti-aircraft and anti-drone system called the "Achilles Shield." The system will be built around Israeli radars and missiles manufactured by Rafael and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). The Greek government has said it plans to spend about 28 billion euros by 2036 to modernize its armed forces, including purchasing up to 40 new F-35 fighter jets from the United States and frigates from France and Italy.
