Greece’s plan to purchase the Iron Dome air and missile defense system from Israel has prompted debate over who would control the project’s source code and command-and-control infrastructure. Critics in the Greek press argue that the system could leave the country dependent on Israeli technology and create new security risks.
The backgrounds of the Israeli companies involved in the procurement process should also be examined. Israel Aerospace Industries held a 31 percent stake in Cytrox, the company that developed the Predator spyware in 2017, and was represented on its board of directors.
Cytrox later became part of the Intellexa network linked to Tal Dilian, a former Israeli intelligence officer. The Predator spyware has also been linked to a scandal in Greece involving the surveillance of politicians’ and journalists’ phones.
Source code and control of the system
The Iron Dome has a critical structure consisting of sensors, interception systems and a command-and-control center. Military sources argue that the system’s “keys” could remain in Israel’s hands, potentially making Greece dependent on Israeli diplomacy.
Assessments have also drawn attention to the fact that the United States has not purchased the system. Washington’s inability to establish full control over the system and Israel’s refusal to transfer all of the critical technology have been cited among the reasons.
These views have intensified questions about the limits of Greece’s authority over the source code and command-and-control infrastructure. Former Ambassador Vasilis Bornovas said access to source code was one of the key issues in the purchase of similar weapons systems.
The Iron Dome’s purpose and objections to the agreement
Bornovas argued that not all elements of the system directly target Türkiye. He said a significant part of the Iron Dome should be assessed in the context of potential threats from Russia and the north, adding that the current tensions between Türkiye and Israel may not be permanent and that both countries have strong armies.
Themis Tzimas, a faculty member at the University of Nicosia’s Faculty of Law, argued that a defense agreement on the scale of the Iron Dome was being advanced without providing the public with sufficient information. Tzimas described the process as “the dismantling of national defense.”
902.gr, which is close to the Communist Party of Greece, argued that the system planned for procurement from Israel could create new risks for the country rather than strengthen its security.
As part of the criticism, it was also alleged that Israeli officials had conducted a detailed inspection of military infrastructure in Greece to determine where the system’s components would be deployed. The allegations said that the inspections could enable the collection of extensive information about the country’s critical military facilities.
