Greece Approves €4.3 billion ‘Shield of Achilles’ Defence Package

The Greek government, led by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, gave final approval at a KSSEA meeting to a €4.3 billion defence programme dubbed “Mammoth”. The core of the plan is the “Shield of Achilles”, a multi‑layered air‑defence system estimated at about €3.5 billion, which will integrate Israeli systems such as Spy der, Barak MX and David’s Sling.

Alongside the air‑defence “shield”, the package includes three C‑390 Millennium transport aircraft, two armed Heron UAVs, ten V‑BAT drone systems (twenty UAVs), underwater VICTA vehicles for special‑operations units, anti‑drone electronic suites for the Eastern Aegean islands, AGM‑114 R2 Hellfire missiles for Apache helicopters, night‑vision reconnaissance aircraft and new sonar for four MEKO frigates. The agreement stipulates that at least 25 % of the work will be performed by the Greek defence industry and that the source code for the systems will be handed over to the Hellenic Armed Forces, ensuring full operational control.