Greece signs nearly €3 billion deal with Israel for ‘Achilles Shield’
Greece has signed an agreement with Israel to purchase the multi-layered air and missile defense system “Achilles Shield.” It is intended to strengthen the country’s protection against drones, aircraft, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles, Cyprus Mail reports. According to Israel’s Ministry of Defense, the deal is worth around €3 billion.
The agreement was signed on August 31. Under it, Athens is to receive Rafael’s David’s Sling and SPYDER systems, BARAK MX from Israel Aerospace Industries, and MMR radars. They are planned to be integrated by a new command-and-control system. A separate €26 million agreement for Drone Dome counter-drone systems is also envisaged.
Multi-layered defense
The “Achilles Shield” concept provides for several layers of protection. Sensors are to detect and assess threats, while different systems are to respond depending on the type of target, range and flight altitude.
Panayiotis Tsakonas, a professor of international relations at the University of Athens, believes that the new capabilities will strengthen Greece’s deterrence both quantitatively and qualitatively. At the same time, he stressed that the agreement does not mean the creation of a formal alliance.
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Retired lieutenant general and geostrategic analyst Konstantinos Loukopoulos cautioned against expectations of complete protection. According to him, even a complex air defense system can be overwhelmed by a simultaneous massive launch of missiles and drones or by the depletion of interceptor missile stocks.
Questions regarding Cyprus
The agreement has intensified discussion about defense cooperation between Greece, Cyprus and Israel. Cyprus Defense Minister Vasilis Palmas said this week that the “Achilles Shield” also strengthens Cyprus’s protection and that the three countries share a common threat from Turkey.
However, Tsakonas noted that the system is intended for Greece and its territory, and that there is no joint defense with Cyprus. Cyprus’s purchase of BARAK MX does not in itself ensure automatic integration with Greek systems: this requires political decisions, as well as agreement on issues of geography, interoperability, and command and control.
Loukopoulos also drew attention to the possible dependence of a critically important part of Greece’s air and missile defense on the technologies of one state. Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias said in July that the country would not buy a critical command-and-control system without access to its source code.
