Israel arms company purchases Greece defence company, expanding reach into Europe

A major state-run Israeli defence company has purchased a Greek defence company, expanding Israel’s arms sector reach further into Europe.

According to Greece’s AMNA news agency, the Greek company, Intracom Defence (IDE) signed a deal with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) yesterday for 90.91 per cent of its shares for around €60 million ($65.75 million).

Operating in Greece and other NATO countries, IDE specialises in producing missile launchers, missile subsystems and land and sea tactical communications, while IAI is among the world’s biggest defence and aerospace enterprises.

READ: Israel boosts its profits by arms deals fuelling wars and conflicts

The deal, expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2023, essentially integrates IDE into IAI’s business activities within Greece and Europe, and is expected to position Athens to play a greater role in upcoming defence-related procurement programs worldwide.

It comes amid increased defence cooperation and deals between Israel and Greece over the past few years, with the two countries having signed a $1.65 billion defence deal in 2021, Greece having secretly set up a defence system using Israeli technology against Turkish drones last year, and Tel Aviv, just last month, selling Athens guided anti-tank missiles worth $400 million.

Yesterday’s acquisition, however, enables the state-run Israeli defence company – and subsequently Tel Aviv’s defence industry – to expand further into Greece and Europe as a whole, potentially giving it greater access to and influence over the continent’s defence sectors.