Balgarianovinite.com Days after the start of the US and Israeli strikes on Iran and the retaliatory Iranian attacks on countries in the Persian Gulf, Greece deployed a battery of Patriot air-defence missiles and a pair of F-16 fighters in the northern part of its territory, at Bulgaria’s request, specifically to protect Bulgaria’s airspace.
Concerns about a possible Iranian air threat in the Balkans no longer seem entirely hypothetical after three Iranian ballistic missiles bound for Turkiye were shot down and a drone struck the airfield of the British base Akrotiri on the island of Cyprus.
Greece is not providing air-defence assistance only to Bulgaria. Athens has taken on the defence of North Macedonia’s airspace within NATO, and since 2021 a Greek Patriot battery has been deployed in Saudi Arabia, where it shot down two Iranian ballistic missiles last week, Greek media reported. The newspaper Vima recalls that the Greek-made drone-countering system Kentavros was also deployed on the Greek frigates that took part in the EU’s Aspides operation in the Red Sea against threats to shipping from the Yemeni Houthi rebels, and it was sent to Cyprus on board the frigate Psara after the island requested assistance because of its proximity to the area of the Middle East conflict and because of the drone that struck the British base Akrotiri.
These facts show that Greece’s air-defence capability is aiming to play not only a national but also a regional role. And insofar as this role has included Bulgarian airspace since the start of the war in Iran, some details of its current and future capabilities appear noteworthy.
On Monday the Greek Government Council for Foreign Affairs and Defence approved a package worth about EUR 5 billion, as reported by Naftemporiki, whose central element is the so-called Achilles Shield – a comprehensive system or, as it is now fashionable to say, a “dome” (modelled on Israel’s Iron Dome) for air, missile, and anti-drone defence. According to the Greek edition of CNN, this multilayered system alone is valued at about EUR 3 billion. The Achilles Shield was also mentioned by the Greek Defence Minister during his visit to Sofia on March 12, and in particular the Kentavros drone-countering system.
As Vima explains, Kentavros is an electronic (soft-kill) anti-drone system that disrupts the GPS navigation of drones and the communication between a drone and its operator. As a result, the drone is forced to land or return to its base, or it crashes, missing its target. In the Red Sea operation the system successfully handled Houthi drones. Besides its naval configuration, it has a land version, and it was recently announced that it had been successfully integrated with Israel’s BARAK-MX air- and anti-drone-defence system, meaning that electronic and physical (hard-kill) anti-drone systems can be integrated into a single centralized command-and-control environment.
The central place in Greece’s plans to modernize its air defence is taken by cooperation with Israel and with Israeli defence industry companies. As the internet portal Newmoney.gr writes, this will take place under an intergovernmental agreement expected to be signed at the end of May or start of June, with the first deliveries promised within 12–18 months. Greek companies will participate in the production of the Israeli systems with a share of at least 25%.
More specifically, talks with Israel concern the delivery of the following systems:
SPYDER – air-defence missiles with a range of 15, 20, and 40 km, which will replace the old Soviet-era Osa and Tor systems in Greek service.
David’s Sling – a system for countering ballistic missiles and long-range rockets, intended to replace the Soviet S-300.
Barak MX – the backbone of the “Greek dome”, with three types of missiles with a range from 35 to 150 km, which will replace the old Hawk systems.
EL/M-2084 MMR radars – mobile, ultra-modern radars that track up to 1,200 targets within a radius of 475 km and 200 targets within a radius of 100 km for the needs of the air-control system of the Greek Air Force.
C4I – a command, control, communications, computers, and data system, to be produced in Greece in cooperation with local firms.
The implementation of this ambitious programme will indeed mark a new stage in the development of Greek air defence, which, as publicly available media data show, currently relies on US Patriot systems (6 batteries) and on the Soviet S-300 systems acquired from Cyprus at the end of the last century for long-range interception, on the relatively old US Hawk medium-range surface-to-air missiles, on the Soviet Tor and Osa systems for closer-range targets, as well as on Stinger man-portable missiles, their Greek derivative ASRAD Hellas, and several anti-aircraft artillery installations. The significant share of Soviet-designed systems in Greek armaments also creates serious difficulties in maintaining them in working order and supplying ammunition because of sanctions against Russia.
Greek air defence traditionally relies also on its strong air force. With about 200 aircraft the country ranks fifth in NATO and second in the EU, and is actively investing in renewing and modernizing its fleet through the acquisition of French Rafale fighters, the upgrade of existing F-16s, and the planned purchase of fifth-generation F-35 fighters.
Focusing on his country’s ambitious rearmament programmes during his visit to Sofia, Greek Defence Minister Nikos Dendias said: “We are interested […] in cooperation with the Bulgarian innovation ecosystem as part of this reform. Our two countries are not ‘big powers’, and as a consequence I believe that communication between the defence-innovation ecosystems can be of benefit to both Greece and Bulgaria, but also to Europe.”
“We established that in the field of military innovations there is ample scope to expand our cooperation,” Bulgarian Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov noted in turn. From Patriot to Kentavros: Greece Boosts Regional Air Defence After Strikes on Iran 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-03-27 08:12:15 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law