The greatest operational burden is expected to be borne by the Hellenic Army, which will operate the majority of the new systems forming the so-called “Achilles’ Shield.”
The year 2026 will be a turning point for Greece’s defense. According to the planning of the Ministry of National Defense and the General Staff, it is in that year that procedures will begin for the construction of the so-called “dome,” which will protect the country’s islands and mainland from missile attacks, loitering munitions, and other modern threats, Kathimerini reported.
The greatest operational burden is expected to be borne by the Hellenic Army, which will operate the majority of the new systems forming the so-called “Achilles’ Shield.” At the same time, the strengthening of the Air Force and the Navy has already largely begun through the acquisition of modern aircraft and surface platforms, which will contribute to the establishment of a multilayered defense. As a result, the modernization of the land forces has come to the forefront, as they must acquire modern defensive and offensive capabilities.
By mid-2026, contracts are expected to be signed for the delivery of the first system that will form part of the much-publicized “Achilles’ Shield.” This concerns 36 PULS multiple-launch rocket systems, which will reinforce the Army’s rocket artillery. The version to be acquired by Greece will be accompanied by a full range of munitions, including Predator Hawk ER missiles. For the first time, the Hellenic Army will have the capability to strike targets at distances exceeding 300 kilometers.
The core components of the Greek “dome”—the air defense and missile defense systems—are expected only after the end of the decade. Nevertheless, decisions regarding technical specifications, capabilities, delivery timelines, and the participation of the national defense industry will be taken as early as 2026. It is also known that the implementation of a single armaments program—from its activation to the signing of contracts—requires at least 28 distinct stages.
In recent months, the general staffs have identified the systems that meet operational requirements formulated on the basis of lessons learned from recent military conflicts, with the initial activation at the SAGE level already completed. The staffs’ recommendations are now in the hands of the political leadership, which in the first months of 2026 will brief the parliamentary armaments committee and subsequently the National Security Council (KYSEA) on the activation of the programs included in the “Achilles’ Shield.”
As previously reported, the main body of the “dome” will consist of Israeli-made air defense and missile defense systems—Spyder, Barak MX, and David’s Sling—intended respectively for short-, medium-, and long-range defense.
After all formal approvals are secured, Parliament will authorize the General Directorate for Defense Armaments and Investments (GDAEE) to begin negotiations with the Israeli agency SIBAT, as the procurement will be carried out through an intergovernmental agreement. Following the conclusion of negotiations—a process expected to last more than one year—GDAEE will submit the draft contracts to the Ministry of National Defense, which will once again seek approval from Parliament and KYSEA in order to proceed with their signing.
The cost of acquiring the three systems is expected to exceed €3 billion. In discussions with the Israeli side, Athens has set as a mandatory condition the participation of the Greek defense industry at a level of at least 25 percent, a requirement that Jerusalem appears ready to accept. The objective of the leadership, as stated by Minister of National Defense Nikos Dendias, is for the “dome” to provide protection not only against aerial attacks but also against threats originating from the sea surface, the seabed, and even cyberspace. This task is significantly more complex, as rapid technological development renders some systems obsolete within months.
To build an effective defensive network, the general staffs are carefully analyzing lessons from the war in Ukraine, conflicts in the Middle East, and Nagorno-Karabakh, adapting these findings to Greek requirements. The proposals submitted to the political leadership emphasize broader use of the national defense industry, in order to develop and deploy systems that can adapt more quickly to changing conditions than imported solutions.
This approach is followed by both Ukraine and Israel, which have achieved a significant degree of autonomy in unmanned systems as well as in electronic warfare applications. In the initial phase, however, the “dome” will incorporate surveillance and threat-detection systems already installed in Evros and on the islands of the Eastern Aegean, while solutions are being explored for early-warning networks on the seabed, on the surface, and in the airspace.
Athens, through ELKAK and the proposals it has submitted under the European SAFE regulation, aims at the joint development of systems covering key aspects of multilayered defense, such as timely threat detection, information management and transmission, the formation of the tactical picture, and the means of target neutralization (soft kill/hard kill). | BGNES