Israel and Greece sign a multi-billion-dollar weapons deal, the largest between the countries

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel signed a multi-billion-dollar weapons deal with Greece, the largest between the two Mediterranean countries, as Israeli defense exports soar.

Israel's Defense Ministry said Monday the nearly 3 billion Euro ($3.5 billion) defense export deal, coined Achilles Shield, is one of the country's largest and includes a multilayered air defense system for Greece using Israeli technology.

“Israel and Greece share common strategic interests and face shared regional challenges. At a time when actors with hegemonic ambitions are seeking to expand their influence and undermine stability in the region,” said Defense Minister Israel Katz.

Israeli arms exports at record highs

The agreement comes as Israeli weapons exports have reached record highs with more than $19 billion last year, a 30% increase from 2024, according to official data, despite widespread criticism of Israel’s conduct in its wars in Gaza, with Hezbollah and with Iran.

Experts say governments look to Israel because its weapons are battle-tested and they’re able to see in real time that the munitions and systems work.

Israel and Greece have deepened defense ties in the last decade. Monday’s signing, however, marks the most significant deal between the two as Greece focuses on modernizing its armed forces to keep pace with its neighbor and fellow NATO member Turkey amid long-standing disputes over sea boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean.

Previous deals have included a $1.65 billion agreement with Israeli defense contractor Elbit to build a flight training school in southern Greece as well as the planned sale of Israeli rocket launchers, anti‑tank guided missiles and drones.

Greece says old defense doctrines now ‘completely unrealistic’

Israel says Monday's agreement is the first time it will provide a complete array of defense weapons against a range of threats from ballistic missiles to drones. It includes multiple Israeli systems such as David Sling and SPYDER as well as a new national command and control system. In addition to the agreement, a complementary deal valued at $30 million (26 million Euros) was signed for the sale of Rafael's Drone Dome systems, it said.

“Modern conflicts have already altered the parameters of military defense and deterrence,” Greece’s Defense Minister Nikos Dendias said in a statement after the agreement was signed. “Technology, ballistic missiles, satellite communications, unmanned systems, cyber threats, hybrid forms of warfare and the interconnection of fields of operations have long rendered preexisting defense doctrines completely unrealistic,” he said.

More than half of the Israeli arms industry’s sales are for missiles, rockets and air-defense systems.

For the first time, Israel has surpassed the United Kingdom in its share of global arms exports, making it the world’s seventh-biggest supplier, according to a March report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. —

Gatopoulos reported from Athens, Greece