$3.5 Billion Achilles’ Shield deal highlights depth and complexity of Israel’s commercial and defense relationships.

Israel and Greece just signed the $3 billion “Achilles Shield” agreement, under which Israeli companies will help build an integrated, multilayered air-defense system for Greece. It is one of the largest defense export agreements in Israel’s history. But the size of the deal may be less important than its structure. As Israeli companies sell increasingly sophisticated products and services abroad, the commercial relationships become longer, deeper, and more complicated. They involve local partners, intellectual property, financing, regulatory approvals, supply chains, performance obligations, technology transfer, and inevitably, disputes.

That is the opportunity—and the challenge. For decades, much of the conversation about U.S. and European commerce with Israel focused on bringing foreign capital and technology into Israel. Increasingly, the story is also about taking Israeli technology, expertise, and businesses out into the world. The Achilles Shield deal is an unusually large example. But it reflects a much broader trend. Israeli companies that succeed internationally will increasingly need to think of themselves not simply as exporters, but as multinational businesses.

And that requires a different kind of preparation.

#Israel #InternationalBusiness #DefenseTech #CrossBorderBusiness #InternationalLaw