Germany signs Arrow anti-missile shield purchase agreement with Israel

The German and Israeli defense ministers signed a «historic» agreement for the purchase of the Arrow ballistic missile defense system.

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Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited Germany and met with his German counterpart, Boris Pistorius, to celebrate the signing of the contract for the purchase of the Arrow ballistic missile defense system, and to issue a joint declaration of intent for cooperation between the two nations in the field of defense.

Engere Zusammenarbeit zwischen Verteidigungsminister #Pistorius und seinem israelischen Amtskollegen @yoavgallant. Das Rüstungsprojekt #ARROW wird die deutsche #Luftverteidigung zukunftsfähig aufstellen: pic.twitter.com/foAaIBpFRQ

— Verteidigungsministerium (@BMVg_Bundeswehr) September 28, 2023

The German Ministry of Defense is confident that the ARROW weapons program will prepare Germany’s air defense to face the challenges of the future. The Arrow 3 interceptor system produced by the Israeli firm IAI was selected over the THAAD, from the American firm Lockheed Martin, to shield Germany from Russian ballistic missiles.

«Eighty years after World War II, Israel and Germany are joining together to build a more secure future for both nations,» Minister Gallant said.

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IAI is proud to be participating in the signing agreement ceremony with Germany, and lead the Arrow project, which will be used to defend Europe against ballistic missile attacks.
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— Israel Aerospace Industries (@ILAerospaceIAI) September 28, 2023

The first part of the agreement, valued at US$600 million, was signed today, allowing the immediate start of the project’s infrastructure works. The full contract is expected to be signed in November 2023. With an overall value of US$3.5 billion.

Defense Ministry Director General, Major General (Ret.) Eyal Zamir stated, «The Arrow 3 deal, the largest and most significant in the country’s history, will catapult Israeli defense exports to a new peak and directly create hundreds of new jobs. The Israeli defense system once again demonstrates its strength and technological advantages.»

See also: Austria and Switzerland want to participate in the German-led European Sky Shield Initiative

Germany is promoting the «European Sky Shield Initiative» (ESSI) to other European NATO member states to create a European air and missile defense system through the common procurement of air and missile defense equipment, based on the Arrow 3 system.

Arrow 3 anti-missile system

The Arrow 3 interceptor missile system, together with the ELM-2080S Super Green Pine scanning and long-range early warning radar and the command and control station, make up the Arrow Weapon System (AWS) suite, whose role is exoatmospheric defense against tactical and medium-range ballistic missiles.

The ELM-2080S Super Green Pine, a powerful L-band AESA radar with more than 2,000 transmitter/receiver modules (TRMs) and a range of more than 900 km, is capable of detecting ballistic missiles during their lift-off stage or their independent re-entry vehicles in space.

The target information is presented and studied in the command center and from there the launching of the Arrow 3 interceptor missiles is determined. They will ascend to exoatmospheric altitudes and there they will release their interceptor vehicles, which, using the updated radar data, will proceed to destroy the warheads of the enemy missiles thanks to the kinetic energy produced by direct impact (Hit-to-Kill).