A high-level Israeli defense delegation visited Athens this week for talks on Greece’s Achilles’ Shield air defense program, a 3-billion-euro air defense initiative that had reportedly been put on hold.
The delegation included officials from SIBAT, Israel’s defense export and cooperation agency, alongside representatives of two of Israel’s largest defense contractors, IAI (Israel Aerospace Industries) and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. The group met with Greece’s General Directorate for Defense Investment and Armaments (GDDIA), the body that oversees major military procurement.
Achilles’ Shield is among Greece’s most ambitious defense plans and has been often described as a Greek equivalent of Israel’s Iron Dome. It will be designed to offer a multi-layered shield against missile, drone and aerial threats.
Contracts with four Israeli companies had been scheduled for signing at the May 18 session of KYSEA, Greece’s Government Council of Foreign Affairs and Defense. The item was pulled from the agenda as none of the contracts met the condition set by Defense Minister Nikos Dendias requiring Greek domestic defense industry participation of at least 25% of the total contract value.
Dendias has publicly stated the threshold should be “at least 25%,” but sources within the Defense Ministry indicated that some parties to the negotiations had applied a looser interpretation of that requirement. The dispute pushed the timeline for initial deliveries from 2027 to the end of the decade.
The meeting at the Greek defense procurement directorate this week was aimed at resolving that outstanding issue and locking in the domestic industry participation terms on both sides. Formal KYSEA approval is now targeted for June, if all issues are resolved.
