Why has Greece signed a $3.5bn missile deal with Israel?

Greece has inked a weapons accord with Israel that will see a $3.5bn multi-layered air defence system delivered to Athens in what is the largest defence agreement ever between the two countries.

Key points

• "The transformation of Greece into an Israeli satellite is proceeding at breakneck speed, " Greece's former Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis posted on X last week.
• The new purchase is part of Greece's intends to modernise its military by 2030.
• According to a statement by the Israeli Ministry of Defence, the Achilles Shield comprises three core systems.
• While the US's Patriot defence system is highly coveted, a number of European nations have been turning to Israel's David Sling.
• The agreement, signed on Monday in Tel Aviv, comes as Greece's relations with its neighbour and rival, Turkiye, have grown more sour.

In practice, the agreement, signed on Monday in Tel Aviv, comes as Greece's relations with its neighbour and rival, Turkiye, have grown more sour. After the genocidal war on Gaza and Israel's increasingly blatant efforts to annex the occupied West Bank, it additionally, even so, breaks with a broader European wariness of being seen as too close to Israel.

Greece and Israel have long shared economic and diplomatic ties. They've additionally regularly conducted joint military exercises.

Meanwhile, the new purchase is part of Greece's intends to modernise its military by 2030. As well as to purchase up to 40 F-35 fighter jets from the United States and frigates from France and Italy, athens will spend regarding 28 billion euros ($32bn) by 2036 to build the Israeli defence system, known collectively in Greece as the Achilles Shield.

Achilles Shield, which was negotiated over three years, will be delivered in stages. It is scheduled to reach full operational readiness within 35 months. Here's what we know regarding the agreement.

David's Sling is developed by the Israeli Missile Defense Organization. It's an advanced air and missile defence system designed to intercept tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and medium-to-long-range rockets through direct kinetic impact. It travels at supersonic speed and can engage threats from 40km to 300km (25 miles to 185 miles) away.

For context, the Spyder is manufactured by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. This surface-to-air missile system is designed to engage low-altitude aerial threats like aircraft, helicopters, drones and guided munitions.

Meanwhile, the Barak MX multi-modal defence system is manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries. It can engage a wider spectrum of threats, including cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, fighter jets, helicopters, and unmanned aerial vehicles, from 35km to 150km (55 miles to 240 miles) away using four models of interceptors.

As well as an artificial intelligence-enabled command centre incorporating all the technologies, as part of the accord, Israel will additionally deliver multi-mission radars for air surveillance.

Meanwhile, a statement by an Israeli Defence Ministry spokesperson additionally went on that a supplementary accord valued at 26 million euros ($30m) would see Israel sell Greece drone dome systems as well. Why is this happening now?

Analysts say Greece is increasingly concerned regarding threats posed by the US-Israel war on Iran, especially as Tehran has rolled out strikes on US allies in the Gulf.

"One needs to be aware that Greece is the host of American naval bases and those might become in the future a target for the Iranians, " Wolfgang Pusztai, a security policy analyst who formerly served as an Austrian defence attache in Greece, informed Al Jazeera.

"This is a capability that Greece and other European countries might need in the case that Iran is threatening them, too, " he continued, referring to the defence systems.

While the US's Patriot defence system is highly coveted, a number of European nations have been turning to Israel's David Sling. It is cheaper and more effective, Pusztai stated. The US itself is additionally running critically low on Patriots. In May, Switzerland was informed that a Patriot's delivery from the US would be delayed and would be more expensive against the backdrop of the war on Iran. What does this mean for Turkiye?

Greece is additionally wary of Turkiye's increasing drone capabilities, analysts say. Ankara and Athens have long sparred over maritime boundaries, including control over disputed areas in the Aegean Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean. Tensions between Turkiye and Israel are additionally rising over Israel's genocide in Gaza.

"This is certainly a reason why will deploy the first elements of the Achilles Shield in the Aegean, " Pusztai continued.

Turkiye has not yet reacted to the new defence accord. The growing military relationship between Greece, Israel and Cyprus – with which Turkiye additionally has territorial tensions – has previously drawn negative reactions from Ankara.

"We're already hearing some Turkish analysts talking to Turkish media about how Greece's weapons procurement deal from Israel makes Greece effectively co-responsible for everything that Israel does in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, " Al Jazeera's John Psaropoulos remarked from Athens.

Cyprus, in December, was the first to purchase Israel's Barak defence system. Turkish defence commentators at the time condemned the purchase.

"The Greek Cypriot administration has now become a complete proxy for the US and Israel, " remarked Cem Gurdeniz, a prominent retired rear admiral and a major proponent of Turkiye's "Blue Homeland" maritime doctrine. It asserts Ankara's sovereignty over substantial swaths of disputed areas in the Aegean, Black, and Eastern Mediterranean seas. What is the reaction to Israel in Greece?

As in a number of European countries, numerous individuals in Greece are resisted to Israel's genocide in Gaza and to deepening ties with Israel.

Regarding 76 percent of Greeks do not believe Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will do the right thing regarding world affairs, according to a Pew Research Center poll issued in June.

Opposition figures and intellectuals have loudly criticised Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis's strengthening relations with Israel, and have accused Israel of seeking to employ their country as a proxy.

"The transformation of Greece into an Israeli satellite is proceeding at breakneck speed, " Greece's former Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis posted on X last week. "This bodes ill for most of Greeks, for peace in our region and for Europe and West Asia more broadly. It must be resisted."

In short, why has Greece signed a $3.5bn missile deal with Israel? Is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.