“The United States approved the sale of the Arrow 3 missile defense system to Germany, in the country’s biggest military deal worth $3.5 billion”, the Israeli Ministry of Defense (MOD) said in a press release.
In a statement, the Defense Ministry said the US Department of State notified Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and other senior ministry officials that the US government had approved the sale of the system, which had been developed jointly by the Israel Missile Defense Organization and the United States Missile Defense Agency and manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries.
The Arrow 3 is currently Israel’s most advanced long-range missile defense system, meant to intercept ballistic missiles while they are still outside of the Earth’s atmosphere, taking out projectiles and their nuclear, biological, chemical, or conventional warheads closer to their launch sites, from a distance of up to 2,400 kilometers (1,490 miles).
The Defense Ministry said senior Israeli and German defense officials would sign a letter of commitment in the coming weeks, and Germany would transfer to Israel an initial payment of some $600 million to set up manufacturing and production before the full contract is signed.
The approval of the Arrow 3 sale is a major win for Israel’s defense industry. The system is considered to be one of the most advanced missile defense systems in the world, and its sale to Germany will boost Israel’s reputation as a leading defense exporter.
The deal is also a significant development in the US-Israel relationship. It is a sign of the strong security cooperation between the two countries and of the US’s commitment to Israel’s security.
The Arrow 3 system will be a valuable addition to Germany’s air defense capabilities. It will help to protect Germany from ballistic missile threats. The system’s deployment will also send a strong message to potential adversaries that Germany is committed to defending itself against missile attacks.
Aimen Jamil's intellectual curiosity lies at the intersection of Middle East and Pakistan Foreign Policy.
