Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias announced the approval of a series of contracts under a long-term armament program, including the creation of a modern air, missile and drone defense system named „Achilles’ Shield”. The program, valued at 4.2 billion euros, is being developed in cooperation with Cyprus and Israel and aims to deter Turkey, with which all three countries have severely strained relations.
The Achilles’ Shield system alone will consume approximately 3 billion euros of the total budget. Dendias wrote on social media that „Greece has entered a new era”, marking a shift in the country’s defense posture.
Strategic alliance with Cyprus and Israel
The trilateral cooperation between Greece, Cyprus and Israel is central to the project. Tensions with Turkey stem from disputes over the northern part of Cyprus and competing claims to exclusive economic zones in the Aegean Sea and the eastern Mediterranean, where rich hydrocarbon deposits have been discovered.
In late 2025, the three countries signed a trilateral security cooperation agreement. In December 2025, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hosted Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. During that visit, Greece committed to purchasing billions of euros worth of Israeli air defense components for the Achilles’ Shield, as well as PULS artillery systems intended to strengthen the defense of Greek islands near the Turkish coast. These purchases help reduce Athens’ reliance on traditional European suppliers such as France and Germany.
Broader military modernization
The Achilles’ Shield is only one element of Greece’s military overhaul. The country will also acquire Brazilian Embraer C-390 Millennium transport aircraft, Israeli Heron drones, and missiles for American Apache helicopters, among other modern weapon systems.
The announcement comes after a decade of frozen military budgets during Greece’s deep public finance crisis from 2009 to 2018, as noted by AFP. In April 2025, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis unveiled a 25 billion euro military reform, described as the most significant such undertaking in the country’s modern history.
Earlier in April, during a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron, Greece renewed a 2021 agreement with France for the delivery of French armaments, including Belharra frigates and Rafale fighter jets.
– Greece has entered a new era, a new reality – wrote Defense Minister Nikos Dendias on platform X, confirming the government’s approval of the contracts.
Źródło: Polsatnews.pl, Fot. Polsatnews.pl
