Israel-Greece ink $3.5B deal for 'multitiered' air defense shield
by Paul Godfrey · UPIAug. 31 (UPI) -- Israel announced Monday the signing of a $3.5 billion deal to supply and build Greece with air defense systems.
Dubbed the "Achilles Shield" agreement, the Israeli Defense Ministry said in a news release that the deal was for "a multi-layered air defense array based on Israeli systems architecture -- including David's Sling and SPYDER, manufactured by Rafael, and the BARAK MX system, manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries."
"This is the largest defense export deal in the history of Israel-Greece relations, and one of the largest in the history of the State of Israel," the MOD said after Director-General Maj. Gen. (Res.) Amir Baram and Greek counterpart, Ioannis Bouras, signed the agreement in Tel Aviv.
Drawing on the real-world experience gained by defense establishment during the Gaza War, the wrap around, all-Israeli-originated systems will see Israeli arms manufacturers provide Greece with a complete national defense solution to counter everything from ballistic missiles and aerial threats to enemy drones, said the MOD.
It would be the first time Israel has supplied such a system to another country.
Greece said its domestic defense industry would benefit to the tune of $870 million with 19 Greek firms already on board and that the plan was to build up a base of production to be able to fulful the export orders.
Calling it a "strategic milestone" in the two countries' relationship, Baram said it was a demonstration of the utliity of the MODs strategy of boosting defense exports as a "key driver of IDF force buildup, of Israel's foreign policy influence, and of a stronger national defense industry and economy."
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the deal was the first fruit of a deepening of defense cooperation agreed when he was hosted by Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias during a visit to Greece in January, including on cyber defense, technology sharing, underwater drones and military drills.
"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, Israel and Greece will continue to deepen their defense and strategic cooperation, and will act with determination to preserve stability and safeguard their security and shared interests," said Katz.
Monday's signing comes just over a year after Dendias unveiled a so-called "Agenda 2030" blueprint to modernize Greece's armed forces and develop the country's home-grown defense manufacturing sector.
Other EU countries, including Germany and Finland, have purchased stand-alone systems from Israel but Greece said it is the first to combine multiple air defense systems into a shield to protect the nation.
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Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his famed "I Have a Dream" speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington on August 28, 1963. The speech galvanized the nation's civil rights movements and led to the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the 1965 Voting Rights Act and the 1968 Fair Housing Act. File photo by UPI | License Photo