The Arrow 3 system - designed to shoot down ballistic missiles above the Earth's atmosphere - was jointly developed and produced by Israel and the United States.
An Arrow 3 interceptor missile is launched from an Israeli military base at an undisclosed location on the Mediterranean coast. Photo: DPA
The Israeli Defense Ministry said the US State Department had informed it of the government's approval for Germany to purchase the Arrow 3 system. "The Israeli Defense Ministry, the German Federal Ministry of Defense and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) will sign a landmark $3.5 billion defense deal," the statement said.
Senior Israeli and German defense officials will sign a commitment to the deal with an initial payment of $600 million, the Israeli Defense Ministry said.
“With its exceptional long-range interception capability, operating at high altitudes in the atmosphere, the Arrow 3 is the premier interceptor of its kind,” the ministry said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the deal “the largest defense purchase” in Israel’s history.
“Seventy-five years ago, the Jews were crushed to ashes by the Nazis. Seventy-five years later, the Jewish state gives Germany – a different Germany – the tools to defend itself… What a historic turning point,” Netanyahu said.
The system was first deployed at an Israeli air base in 2017 and has been used to defend Israel against attacks from Iran and Syria.
The final contract for the deal is expected to be signed by the end of 2023 after approval by both the German and Israeli parliaments, the Israeli Defense Ministry said. Germany hopes to deliver the Arrow 3 system in the final quarter of 2025.
The German government has pushed to boost NATO's air defense capabilities in Europe after witnessing Russia's relentless missile attacks on Ukraine, calling on allies to jointly buy deterrent systems.
So far, more than a dozen European countries have signed up to the European Sky Shield initiative.
Mai Van (according to AFP, SCMP)
Source
Comment (0)