JERUSALEM — The Israel Ministry of Defense delivered the first operational Arrow 3 system to Germany in a formal ceremony at a German Air Force base near Berlin, Israel’s Ministry of Defense said today.
“This marks a significant step in implementing the defense export contract signed between the two nations approximately two years ago and is considered the largest defense export deal in Israel’s history,” the ministry said in a statement. The $4 billion deal for Arrow 3 was finalized in late 2023, and Israel said then that it would deliver the system in 2025.
“The Arrow system has protected the State of Israel at high percentages over the past two years, saving lives and preventing damage to bodies and property, enabling the [Israeli Defense Forces] to carry out its missions,” the head of the Israel Ministry of Defense’s Directorate of Defense Research and Development (DDR&D), Brig. Gen. (Res.) Daniel Gold, said.
Arrow 3 is produced by Israel Aerospace Industries and along with Arrow 2 is the uppermost layer of Israel’s three-part air defense system, with David’s Sling as the middle layer and Iron Dome as the lowest, closest-range layer. While IAI is the prime contractor for the system’s radar, interceptors and detection system, the ministry noted that “Elbit Systems developed the command and control system. Tomer, a government-owned company, and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems are key subcontractors for the development and production of the Arrow 3 interceptor.”
“The delivery of the Arrow 3 system to Germany marks a moment of profound national and historical significance,” Boaz Levy, IAI President and CEO said. “While the world is closely watching the growing threat of ballistic missiles, in the last couple of years Israel intercepted hundreds of ballistic missiles launched from Iran and Yemen. Throughout these attacks, the Arrow system operated with exceptional precision and demonstrated its ability to counter massive and complex barrages.
Arrow was developed with the United States Missile Defense Agency (MDA) in a project dating back to the 1980s. The latest version, Arrow 3, was used successfully for the first time to intercept a war-time threat in November 2023, two months after the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, when it was used to counter Iranian-backed Houthi ballistic missiles.
Later it helped counter several rounds of Iranian ballistic missiles fired at Israel in 2024 and then during the 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran in 2025. Despite being engaged in combat operations on several fronts since Hama’s 2023 attack, Israel kept the Arrow deal with Germany on track for the 2025 delivery.
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Germany and Israel have various types of defense ties. For instance Israel has purchased submarines and naval vessels from Germany, while Germany has acquired the Trophy active protection system for tanks, as well as Spike anti-tank missiles.
Israeli Ministry of Defense Director Amir Baram noted that Germany had recently lifted an arms embargo on Israel that affected “various defense components.” He said that the embargo should never have happened. “When Israel acts against nuclear threats, ballistic missiles, and terrorism, we are not only defending ourselves — we are protecting the entire Western world. We are doing the hard work, sometimes the ‘dirty work,’ that the entire world should be doing.”
The interstate relationship, of course, has unique historical significant. During the Arrow handover ceremony, Baram noted he is a second-generation Holocaust survivor.
“I stand here deeply moved because a ballistic missile defense system, developed by the finest Jewish minds in Israel’s aerospace industry, out of our existential necessity, will now help defend Germany,” he said. He said Israelis want to see Germany “strong and prosperous, proud and leading in Europe and throughout the world.”
Israel’s Ambassador to Germany Ron Prosor also referenced the Holocaust in his comments at the handover, saying, “My family, who fled Germany on the eve of the Holocaust, could never have foreseen this.”