Greece has signed a $3.5bn defence deal with Israel to provide its first integrated “multi-layered” air defence network. Israel said the agreement, negotiated over three years, is one of the largest in the country’s history.. Engineers will set up an aerial defence shield for the Greeks, integrating three Israeli systems, including the SPYDER system, produced by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, the BARAK MX system, made by Israel Aerospace Industries and David’s Sling air defence technology, an Israeli defence ministry statement said on Monday.
The agreement comes as Israeli weapons’ exports are soaring, despite widespread criticism over its genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza and other wars in Lebanon and Iran. Israeli weapons exports reached record highs with more than $19bn last year, a 30 percent increase from 2024, according to official data. Reporting from Athens, Al Jazeera’s John Psaropoulos said the systems could counter a range of aerial threats.
They fire missiles to intercept incoming aircraft, cruise missiles and large drones. The BARAK can do all these things, but it also intercepts incoming ballistics,” he said. Separately, Greece signed a $30m deal with Israel for Rafael’s Drone Dome system, “to defend strategic sites against UAVs and drones and to reinforce existing defences”.
Greece is the second European Union member to agree to buy the David’s Sling system, after Finland. Greece spends nearly 3.5 percent of its gross domestic product on defence, a higher proportion than many NATO allies due to its long-standing dispute with neighbouring Turkiye.
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