Greece and Israel are set to sign agreements on Monday in Tel Aviv for the development of the Achilles’ Shield, a multibillion-euro air defense project that Greek officials describe as a major step in modernizing the country’s defensive capabilities.
The agreements will be signed between the General Directorate for Defense Investments and Armaments of Greece’s Ministry of National Defense and SIBAT, the Defense Cooperation Directorate of Israel’s Ministry of Defense. With the signing, the countdown will begin for completion of the project, which is scheduled to be delivered within 35 months of the contracts entering into force.
According to sources at Greece’s Ministry of National Defense, outstanding issues were resolved in recent days, including provisions securing 25% Greek participation in the project and the transfer of source code. The latter is intended to ensure that the Greek armed forces retain control of the software operating the electronic subsystems of the air defense network.
The total cost of the Achilles’ Shield is expected to reach €3.1 billion. Twelve Greek companies are expected to participate, undertaking work valued at more than €700 million.
The system is designed to combine existing Greek assets, including Patriot air defense systems and drones already deployed at military facilities on islands and the mainland, with Israeli-made air defense platforms. These include Rafael’s short-range, self-propelled Spyder systems; IAI’s Barak MX systems for medium-range threats; and David’s Sling for intercepting ballistic missiles and other long-range threats.
