PULS rocket system ordered by Greece as defence relations with Israel deepen

The Greek armed forces have ordered the PULS rocket launcher from Elbit Systems. The significant deal is expected to increase the country’s long-range strike, but there is much more to striking far than missiles alone.

By Sam Cranny-Evans, editor of Calibre Defence, published on April 8, 2026.

Elbit has signed a $750 million (€650 million) contract with the Greek armed forces for the PULS rocket launcher. According to an April 6 press release, the contract will be delivered over an initial period of four years. It will be followed by a ten-year support period and include collaboration with the Greek domestic industry.

The deal was approved in December 2025 and is understood to cover a total of 36 launchers. The Hellenic Armed Forces already operate a fleet of the M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) from Lockheed Martin.

However, it has been reported in Greek media that upgrading the systems would cost more than €1 billion. That upgrade to the A2 standard would also have included the ability to fire the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM).

It appears that the lower price of the PULS may have won the day in this case. Although, it may also have been a result of delivery timeframes. With a demanding domestic customer, and a flood of orders following 2023, Lockheed has had to extend its delivery timeframes for rocket launchers. This saw Estonia, Poland, and Denmark pick alternative systems. Denmark selected PULS, and Estonia and Poland are in the process of introducing the K-239 Chunmoo into service.

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Growing defence relations between Greece and Israel

The PULS deal follows on the heels of an anticipated procurement for Israeli air defence systems. Greece is planning a €3 billion air defence network called “Achilles Shield,” and is in talks with Israel to that end. Officially launched in April 2025, it is designed to create an integrated, multi-layered “dome” over the entire Greek territory and the Aegean Sea.

Here again, the speed of delivery compared to the US has been referenced as decisive. “Greece already possesses American Patriot systems. If we were to purchase new ones, the wait time would be four to five years due to production constraints,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, said in April 2025.

It is understood that the shield will include offensive capabilities, like anti-ship and submarine systems, rather than being purely defensive in nature. That said, Rafael and IAI are expected to provide the Barak MX for medium range air defence and David’s Sling for longer-range and more complex interceptions, according to the Jerusalem Post.

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There is also understood to be some ambition towards integration, bringing the country’s F-35s, F-16s, and ground-based assets into a network for shared effects. This could be a valuable way to improve the efficacy of a defensive network. The Dutch armed forces have demonstrated the passing of targets from an F-35 to a PULS, for example.

Calibre comment: Striking targets in the Aegean

Some Greek news outlets have touted the range of the PULS and highlighted its ability to reach the Aegean islands. The longe-range weapons available to PULS, specifically the Predator Hawk from Elbit, with a range of 300 km. This is theoretically true; in fact, the Predator Hawk fired from PULS could reach Turkey if launched from Athens. But there is a lot more to targeting at those ranges than the reach of the rocket.

In effect, a rocket can be built to reach anywhere in the world, but the challenge comes from targeting. At 300 km, a missile will need very precise and accurate coordinates of a target to achieve a hit. This is the primary challenge for many forces as pushing ISTAR assets out to that depth can be difficult. And this is especially the case when the opposing force has layered air defence systems in place. Static targets – things like buildings or emplaced air defences – can be hit with this type of system. But anything mobile or real time targeting requires reconnaissance that can survive an enemy air defence network.

The more accurate that strike needs to be, i.e., a small or mobile target, the more precise the targeting needs to be. So, yes, PULS enables the Greek armed forces to reach islands in the Aegean. They could reach Istanbul from inside the country’s borders, but the core requirement for success is winning the ISTAR battle.

The lead image shows a PULS launcher as procured by the Dutch armed forces. Credit: Ministerie van Defensie.