Germany receives first Arrow 3 air defense system from Israel
The $4 billion deal to deliver Arrow 3 to Germany was finalized in late 2023.
The $4 billion deal to deliver Arrow 3 to Germany was finalized in late 2023.
The Arrow 2 and 3 systems make up the highest tier of Israel's air defense, working in tandem with David's Sling and Iron Dome.
“When we saw what was happening with Ukraine … we passed on a clear message that we remain committed to German national security …,” former Israeli ambassador to Germany Jeremy Issacharoff told Breaking Defense.
Over 300 drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles were launched by Iran at Israel, but 99 percent were intercepted, US officials said.
"The interceptor effectively intercepted a target launched towards Israel in the Red Sea region," the IDF said in a statement about the Arrow 3's first successful intercept.
“Just as it [Arrow-3] guards Israel’s skies and saves lives, now it will also defend Germany and its citizens, and may integrate smoothly with NATO systems,” Israel Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant said in Berlin.
Germany is expected to have an initial operational capability by 2025 and be fully operational by 2030.
Switzerland made clear that it will “examine” areas where co-operation can be strengthened, with a plan to specifically address information exchange and training for the US-made Patriot air defense system, of which it ordered five units in June 2021.
Boaz Levy, CEO of IAI, told Breaking Defense he believes final approval from the US for the Arrow-3 sale to Germany will come "real soon."
Germany is moving ahead with purchasing the Israeli made air defense system, in a major win for contractor IAI.
The plan fits into a broader vision, laid out in recent weeks by German chancellor Olaf Scholz, of a united air defense front throughout Europe.
Germany is in talks to purchase the IAI-built Arrow 3 ballistic missile defense system, according to a new report.
Israeli sources that were present in the control room in the Palmachim IAF base told Breaking Defense that the targets were destroyed by kinetic kill.
TEL AVIV: Israel and the U.S have begun development of the Arrow 4 ballistic missile interceptor to deal largely with new Iranian long-range ballistic missile threats. A key design feature for the new Arrow will be winglets, helping it to intercept threats inside the atmosphere, in particular hypersonic missiles. “Israel needs to plan its missiles […]