Israel Says Achilles Shield Will Use Dedicated Greek Source Code

Recent claims concerning access to the source code of Israeli operational systems aren’t relevant to the Greek program, the ministry said, because Achilles Shield will rely on dedicated Greek source code developed with Israeli technological support.

Israel’s Ministry of Defense said Wednesday that Greek companies participating in Greece’s planned Achilles Shield air-defense program will receive Israeli technological know-how, while Greece will retain exclusive control over software developed for the project, seeking to clarify questions surrounding the terms of the defense cooperation.

Under the agreement between Israel’s Ministry of Defense and Greece’s Ministry of National Defence, Israeli expertise will be transferred to Greek companies participating in the program, according to an official statement from the Israeli ministry.

The cooperation will include operational knowledge accumulated over decades of developing and operating air-defense systems, as well as technological assistance designed to enable Greek companies to develop the central command-and-control software for Achilles Shield.

The source code developed for the Greek system, including subsequent modifications and additions, will remain under Greece’s exclusive control and will be tailored to the country’s operational requirements, the Israeli ministry said.

The statement sought to draw a clear distinction between the software underpinning Israel’s own operational defense systems and the technology being developed for Achilles Shield. Recent claims concerning access to the source code of Israeli operational systems aren’t relevant to the Greek program, the ministry said, because Achilles Shield will rely on dedicated Greek source code developed with Israeli technological support.

The distinction is significant because control over source code can determine how independently a country can operate, modify and upgrade sophisticated defense systems over their lifetime. For Greece, retaining control of the software would give its defense establishment greater autonomy in adapting the system to changing operational requirements without requiring access to the proprietary code used by Israel’s armed forces.

Israel’s Ministry of Defense said that during several years of work to shape the agreement, it had sought to facilitate the transfer of technologies and capabilities to qualified Greek companies. Those companies are expected to participate in the production of the broader defense architecture ultimately delivered to Greece.

Achilles Shield is part of Greece’s effort to modernize its air and missile defenses and build a more integrated architecture capable of responding to a range of aerial threats. Israeli technology and expertise are expected to play an important role in the project, while Athens has sought to secure meaningful participation for Greece’s domestic defense industry rather than rely solely on purchases of foreign equipment.

The Israeli clarification highlights that industrial and technological cooperation is intended to be a central element of the program. Greek participation would extend beyond the procurement and integration of Israeli defense technology to the domestic development - and Greek control - of a critical part of Achilles Shield’s software architecture.

That arrangement would allow Israel to protect the proprietary technology embedded in its operational defense systems while giving Greece control over software developed specifically for its own defense network, according to the ministry’s account of the agreement.