Greece has signed a government-to-government contract with Israel for the purchase of 1.44 billion shekels ($400 million) worth of Israeli-made missiles, the Israeli Defense Ministry announced on Monday.
The deal involves a purchase of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems’s Spike missiles and was led by the Defense Ministry’s International Defense Cooperation Directorate.
The Spike anti-tank guided missiles use advanced camera sensors for guidance and can be launched from some 45 different military platforms on land, in the air and at sea.
Some 40 countries around the world use the Spike missiles, including 19 E.U. countries and NATO allies, the ministry said.
“More than 34,000 missiles from the Spike family have already been delivered to various countries around the world and more than 6,000 of them have been launched, both during training as well as for operational use,” the Defense Ministry said.
Commenting on the sale, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said “this project joins a series of agreements between the State of Israel and the Hellenic Republic, and further emphasizes the strong partnership between our countries and our defense establishments, as well as our mutual commitment to ensuring regional stability. I commend our defense industries: Our technological capabilities enable the State of Israel to make positive economic and political achievements.”
Maj. Gen. (res.) Yoav Har-Even, CEO and president of Rafael, added that “we welcome the agreement with the Greek Ministry of Defense and thank the Israeli Ministry of Defense for promoting cooperation with Greece in general and in regards to this deal in particular. The Spike missiles will strengthen the Greek army’s portfolio of operational tools and we expect further expansion through strategic collaborations in the near future.”
