Greece's National Security Council has approved a €3.5bn ($4bn) procurement of Israeli air defence systems from Rafael and IAI, the largest defence export deal in Israel's history.

This agreement surpasses the previous record, namely the $3.5bn Arrow 3 sale to Germany in 2023.

Rafael Advanced Defense Systems appears to be pursuing a significant growth strategy this year. In addition to completing a record deal, the company also seems to be ramping up its output capacity in what seems to be an effort to facilitate further deals of this scale.

Rafael is planning to establish a production line for Iron Dome Tamir interceptor missiles in India, according to previous IntelliNews reporting. The company is also seeking to acquire Volkswagen's Osnabrück plant in Germany, from where it plans to produce trucks and other parts for the Iron Dome system.

The package for Greece covers three tiers of air defence. Rafael's David's Sling will provide long-range coverage, with a 300km reach and Mach 7.5 intercept speed, designed against cruise missiles, aircraft and drones.

Israel Aerospace Industries' (IAI) Barak MX will handle the medium-range tier, supporting intercept ranges of up to 150km across multiple interceptor variants.

Rafael's Spyder system rounds out the short-range layer, targeting UAVs, aircraft, helicopters and short-range ballistic missiles using Python and Derby interceptors. The deal will also include unmanned aerial vehicles.

David's Sling, which incorporates IAI Elta's MMR radar and Elbit's Elisra-developed Golden Almond command and control system, is rarely sold abroad. Its most notable prior export was a €316mn sale to Finland in August 2023. The Barak MX has been sold more widely, with Azerbaijan procuring it for $1.2bn in November 2023. Spyder was recently sold to Romania in a deal exceeding €2bn.

Greece's procurement is driven primarily by the Turkish threat, Globes observed, with the initial deployment earmarked for Thrace and the eastern Aegean. Further tranches are expected as coverage extends across the country.

The deal marks a record for Israel's defence export programme, which reached €19.2bn in 2025, approximately €10bn of which was government-to-government transactions. It follows a December 2025 follow-on Arrow 3 agreement with Germany worth $3.1bn and comes as Israel's Ministry of Defence director general visited India to advance bilateral defence cooperation.