Experts say Greece’s €3 billion defence deal with Israel will strengthen deterrence but will not provide complete protection or automatically cover Cyprus.

Athens, Greece. Greece’s €3 billion Achilles Shield agreement with Israel is expected to strengthen the country’s defences against drones, aircraft, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles, though experts have cautioned against expectations of absolute protection.

The deal has also prompted discussion over the expanding defence relationship between Greece, Cyprus and Israel, including whether Cyprus would be covered by the system.

Defence capabilities

Defence Minister Vasilis Palmas said this week that Achilles Shield also strengthens Cyprus’ protection and that Greece, Cyprus and Israel face a common threat from Turkey.

Panagiotis Tsakonas, professor of International Relations at the University of Athens and head of the Foreign Policy and Security Programme at ELIAMEP, said the system represented an important development for Greece in terms of both the capabilities it will acquire and the message they send.

“It means not only quantitative, but also qualitative strengthening of Greece’s deterrent efforts,” he told the Cyprus Mail.

Tsakonas said the quantitative element stems from the systems themselves and their connection with other platforms Greece has acquired or plans to acquire. The qualitative element arises when those capabilities are translated into greater deterrence.

“It does not mean the creation of a formal alliance,” Tsakonas said.

Systems included

Under the agreement signed with Israel on August 31, Greece will acquire David’s Sling and SPYDER systems from Rafael, BARAK MX from Israel Aerospace Industries and MMR radars, to be integrated through a new command-and-control system.

Israel’s defence ministry said the agreement is worth about €3 billion, alongside a separate €26 million deal for Drone Dome counter-drone systems.

The system is intended to provide layered protection, with different sensors detecting and assessing incoming threats and different systems responding according to the type, distance and altitude of the threat.

Concerns over expectations

Lieutenant General (ret) Konstantinos Loukopoulos, a geostrategic analyst, said Greece needed such a system, particularly in light of lessons from the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.

He said, however, that he was concerned by a “climate of euphoria” surrounding the agreement and suggestions that Greece would now have near-complete protection.