Israeli air defence system: a good deal for Athens?
Greece has signed a three-billion-euro weapons deal with Israel. The new contract includes an air defence system to protect against drones and missiles, which is scheduled to be operational within three years. The system, called Achilles Shield, has triggered a fierce debate in Greek media.
The Achilles heel of the Achilles Shield
Documento points to the risks:
“The worst-case scenario is not just a war with Turkey. It is the day when a Greek government finds itself at odds with Tel Aviv over Cyprus, the Gaza Strip or some other issue and realises that the next software update is a long time in coming, as is the next missiles delivery. … The Shield won't belong to us. We will lease it under a thirty-year contract from a leaser who is constantly at war, and we will call it Achilles Shield in Homeric Greek. Achilles had a shield that had been forged by Hephaestus, his god. Ours came straight off the shelf, with a pre-installed heel.”
A valuable multi-layered defence system
Yaakov Chaliotis, founder of the consultancy firm Group of Verified Intelligence, highlights the benefits in Liberal:
“For Greece, the Shield is valuable not as a hypothetical, impenetrable wall but as a multi-layered defence system and, above all, its integrative function. It strengthens the country's ability to defend itself against ballistic, airborne and drone threats, it protects critical infrastructure and it improves the resilience of the Greek armed forces. ... Then there is also the industrial dimension: domestic production, expertise and highly specialised jobs.”