Hellenic Air Force fighter aircrafts F-16 fly over the ancient temple of Parthenon atop the Acropolis hill during a military parade marking Greece's Independence Day in Athens, on March 25, 2026. (Photo by Aris MESSINIS / AFP via Getty Images)
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.
