Greece is preparing to spend roughly $3.6 billion on Israeli air-defense technology, a major military upgrade arriving just as Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan begin putting their new mutual-defense pact into practice.
In What’s Behind the $3.6 Billion Israel-Greece Defense Deal, The Media Line’s Giorgia Valente looks at what Athens is buying and the significance of the timing. Greece’s planned “Achilles’ Shield” will combine the Spyder, Barak MX and David’s Sling systems with radar and command infrastructure to defend against aircraft, ballistic missiles and drones.
Turkey is difficult to separate from the story. Panayotis Tsakonas, a professor of international relations at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, told The Media Line that Turkey has been Greece’s main security concern for more than five decades. But he stressed that Athens’ military doctrine is built around deterrence, not preparing for war.
Meanwhile, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan are beginning work under the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, which says an attack on one country will be treated as an attack on all three.
That does not mean Israel, Greece, and Cyprus are forming an opposing alliance. Dr. Gallia Lindenstrauss of Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies told The Media Line that their partnership has been growing for years and, unlike the Mecca pact, includes no promise to defend one another.
India is also increasingly connected to Israel, Greece, and Cyprus through defense and strategic cooperation.
Valente’s report explores a region where old partnerships are deepening while new ones emerge—and where a $3.6 billion weapons deal is only part of the story.
