Greece Signs $3.4 Billion Israeli Air Defense Deal for David's Sling, Barak MX and SPYDER
Greece's new Achilles' Shield program will field David's Sling, Barak MX and SPYDER interceptors alongside IAI radars under a roughly €3 billion agreement signed with Israel's Ministry of Defense on August 31, with the systems due to be in place by 2029.
Greece signed a roughly €3 billion agreement on August 31 for an Israeli-built, multi-layered air defense package, to be fielded under a national program named "Achilles' Shield". The deal was concluded between the Ministry of Defense of Israel and the Greek Ministry of National Defence after three years of negotiations, according to Al Jazeera.
The package is supplied by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, and combines interceptor systems across several range brackets with new sensors:
- David's Sling, Rafael's medium-to-long-range interceptor system;
- Barak MX, IAI's air defense system built around the Barak family of interceptors;
- SPYDER, Rafael's short-range system;
- MMR radars from IAI's ELTA subsidiary.
Breaking Defense put the value of the agreement at about $3.4 billion, while Al Jazeera reported a figure of $3.5 billion. Al Jazeera also reported a separate contract worth about $30 million for Rafael's Drone Dome counter-drone system.
Israel's Ministry of Defense described the package as one of the largest defense export agreements in the country's history, Al Jazeera reported. According to Breaking Defense, the deal includes technology transfer to Greek industry.
Greek Defence Minister Nikos Dendias said the new systems will be integrated with "ships, aircraft, land assets, autonomous systems, new satellites... into a single network-centric architecture," Breaking Defense reported.
The purchase adds a ground-based layer to an air arm that already operates a substantial fighter force. According to GlobalMilitary.net's inventory of the Hellenic Air Force, Greece flies 152 F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters, of which 56 have been upgraded to the F-16V standard, along with 24 Rafale and 24 Mirage 2000-5/Mk II combat aircraft. Airborne surveillance is provided by four EMB-145H Erieye early-warning aircraft, while on the ground the Greek Army fields 590 self-propelled guns.
Greece spends about 3.5 percent of its GDP on defense, a higher share than most NATO members, Al Jazeera noted. The agreement also extends the export record of the Israeli systems in Europe: Al Jazeera reported that Finland was previously the first EU member state to buy David's Sling.
According to Al Jazeera, the systems acquired under Achilles' Shield are to be set up by 2029.
More News
All news →
US Army Opens Search for M109 Replacement — 23 Armies Still Field 6,036 of the Cold War Howitzer
The US Army issued a request for information on September 1 for a tracked 155mm howitzer to replace the M109 in armored formations — a type first fielded in the 1960s and still in active service with 6,036 examples across 23 countries, according to GlobalMilitary.net inventory data.
German Frigate Sachsen-Anhalt Fires Israeli LORA in Navy's First Ballistic Missile Launch at Sea
The frigate Sachsen-Anhalt launched at least two Israeli-made LORA quasi-ballistic missiles from containerized launchers on its flight deck in the North Atlantic on the night of September 1 to 2, the first time a German warship has fired a ballistic missile.
Sweden Orders Four French FDI Frigates, Seven Times Bigger Than Its Largest Warship Today
Sweden's defense procurement agency and Naval Group signed a €4.3 billion contract in Stockholm on August 31, 2026 for four Defence and Intervention frigates, to be delivered one a year from 2030 and to serve as the Luleå class.
Sweden Takes Delivery of Its First Four Archer 8x8 Howitzers
Sweden's defense materiel agency FMV handed the first four Archer 8x8 self-propelled howitzers to the Bergslagen Artillery Regiment at the Villingsberg range, the opening tranche of 66 systems ordered from BAE Systems since 2023.
General Dynamics Delivers First XM30 Wolf, Opening the Army's Bradley Replacement Trial
General Dynamics Land Systems handed the first XM30 Wolf prototype to the U.S. Army at Aberdeen Proving Ground on August 28, opening a head-to-head evaluation against American Rheinmetall's Lynx that leads to a production decision in spring 2027.
UK Clears MBDA to Give Ukraine Storm Shadow Blueprints for Battlefield AI Data
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham authorized MBDA on August 24 to release technical data on the UK-controlled components of the Storm Shadow and SCALP cruise missile, according to Breaking Defense, unblocking Ukrainian production of a weapon whose donor stockpiles are close to exhausted.