Why Greece is betting on Israel’s Achilles Shield

On Monday, Greece and Israel signed a $3.5bn defence deal to physique an integrated, multilayered defence web to support Greek territory dubbed the Achilles Shield. The bundle brings unneurotic the David’s Sling and Spyder interceptors, the Barak aerial and rocket defence strategy and multimission radars, alongside a abstracted woody adding Drone Dome systems to support strategical sites from UAVs.

It is the largest defence woody ever concluded betwixt the 2 countries. It is besides 1 of the astir important export agreements successful Israel’s caller history.

What makes the statement peculiarly striking is that it comes arsenic Israel’s planetary lasting is astatine 1 of its lowest points successful decades. And Greece is nary outlier, fixed that 65 percent of its citizens present presumption Israel unfavourably. Why, then, has Athens present chosen to openly deepen its ties with Israel successful the astir politically delicate of areas: defence and subject technology?

Firstly, the shadiness of Israel’s struggle with Iran looms large. In aboriginal March, an Iranian drone struck Cyprus, Greece’s neighbour and adjacent partner. This apt reinforced anxieties that were already disposable successful 2024. After Israel, with the assistance of the United States, downed astir 300 Iranian drones and missiles, Greek Defence Minister Nikos Dendias called connected Athens to make its ain antidrone “dome”.

The woody is truthful partially the merchandise of pragmatic necessity arsenic countries scramble for subject solutions to increasing drone threats. Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, for example, are acquiring antidrone exertion from Ukraine, different state capable to marketplace its products arsenic battle-tested.

Despite its governmental disadvantage, Israel has a applicable caput start, fixed that it has agelong practised “arms diplomacy”, utilizing its defence manufacture arsenic a springboard to cultivate deeper bilateral ties with prospective buyers.

The 2nd origin driving the Achilles Shield woody is different longstanding tenet of Israeli expansive strategy: the “periphery doctrine”. This advocates that Israel make ties with non-Arab states and peoples connected the periphery of the Levant to antagonistic the hostility betwixt Israel and its contiguous neighbours. It is simply a designation that shared threats tin nutrient strategical partnerships. And successful the lawsuit of Israel and Greece, that shared menace is Turkiye.

The irony is that Turkiye – arsenic a non-Arab authorities and the gateway betwixt the Middle East and Europe – was Israel’s adjacent spouse successful the aboriginal days of the periphery doctrine. In 1949, Turkiye was the archetypal Muslim state to recognise Israel. In consequent years, Ankara and Tel Aviv developed robust but clandestine information ties.

This worked arsenic Israel intended successful that it opened the doorway to progressively nationalist and broader bilateral relations, which continued adjacent aft the Islamist-oriented AK Party, oregon Justice and Development Party, came to powerfulness successful Turkiye successful 2002.

But some sides fell retired successful precocious 2008 aft Israel launched an violative connected the Gaza Strip. Subsequent divergences implicit Israeli policies towards the occupied Palestinian territory person gradually unravelled their heavy ties.

Bilateral commercialized has collapsed since Ankara imposed an embargo connected Israel successful 2024. There are nary longer nonstop flights betwixt the 2 countries. In June, US President Donald Trump claimed that US unit stopped Turkiye from joining the warfare connected Iran, connected Tehran’s side. This whitethorn dependable far-fetched, yet it illustrates however Israel and Turkiye not lone disagree connected galore geopolitical issues, but progressively spot each different arsenic rivals and adjacent threats.

What is singular is however rapidly Greece has filled the void. In erstwhile years, Tel Aviv’s concern with Ankara precluded person ties with Athens. But nary more: successful precocious 2025, Israel, Cyprus and Greece signed a “Joint Action Plan” that mandates enhanced subject cooperation.

Energy has reinforced this strategical convergence. The find of important state reserves successful the eastbound Mediterranean encouraged Israel, Greece and Cyprus to cooperate connected pipelines and maritime security.

And, arsenic was the lawsuit with Turkiye, much extended bilateral ties followed information cooperation: immoderate 744,000 Israelis visited Greece successful 2025, compared with the highest of 558,000 Israeli tourists who travelled to Turkiye successful 2008.

The expanding determination part into competing blocs has besides driven the burgeoning Israel-Greece relationship. In February, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu floated a “hexagon alliance” of Israel, Greece, Cyprus, India and unnamed Arab and African countries.

Six months later, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement. This confederation broadly overlaps with what commentators earlier labelled the “Islamic coalition”.

This is an evolving dynamic and inter-bloc collaboration is arsenic communal arsenic intra-bloc divergences. But it demonstrates that the situation of assurance successful the US arsenic a information guarantor extends beyond the Gulf states and predates the caller warfare connected Iran. It besides portends headaches for Washington’s policymakers, fixed that these progressively competing states are each US allies.

The Achilles Shield woody is truthful the caller manifestation of an aged Israeli strategy that has been accelerated by the US-Israel warfare connected Iran. Public scepticism whitethorn complicate Greece-Israel relations, but Israeli-Turkish ties deepened for decades contempt likewise unfavourable nationalist attitudes.

In short, successful the eastbound Mediterranean and elsewhere, increasing fashionable outrage astatine Israel’s policies volition proceed to coexist uneasily with deepening information practice astatine an elite level. The irony is that the aforesaid conflicts that person damaged Israel’s planetary lasting person besides accrued the worth of its subject acquisition and defence technology.

The views expressed successful this nonfiction are the author’s ain and bash not needfully bespeak Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.