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Germany intends to purchase Israel's Arrow 3 air defense system for nearly four billion euros, Reuters reported over the weekend, with the government in Berlin expected to request the German parliament to authorize a 560-million euro down payment in the coming week for the system which is designed to intercept ballistic missiles outside the atmosphere.
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The transaction is to be executed by the end of the year as a deposit in case Germany withdraws from the agreement. The system is expected to be delivered to the German Air Force in 2025.
Although missile strikes from the Soviet bloc were a tangible threat during the Cold War era, Germany and other Western allies have largely neglected their air defense capabilities since the fall of the Berlin Wall.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has highlighted Germany's dearth of surface-to-air capabilities to intercept conventional or non-conventional threats beyond the Earth's atmosphere, raising concerns among decision-makers and military officials alike.
The Arrow 3 system is expected to provide Germany with a layer of defense against medium and long-range missiles at altitudes of up to one hundred kilometers.
Germany is expected to pay almost double the early estimates given during a meeting between German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and then-prime minister Yair Lapid last September, underscoring Berlin's urgency in bolstering its air defenses. Furthermore, Scholz's government will have to can other important defense projects in order to fund the purchase.
The system is not only intended to defend Germany and accelerate the modernization process of its army but also make Germany a leader in air defense among European Union nations.
The prospective sale of the Arrow to Germany has been first reported last year, with Berlin reportedly choosing the Israeli system over U.S. defense contractor Lockheed Martin's THAAD system.