According to German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, Turkey and Greece will formally join the German-led ESSI (European Sky Shield Initiative) missile defense project.
«This is a considerable number in such a short time,» Pistorius told reporters ahead of a meeting with NATO peers in Brussels.
Wir begrüßen #Griechenland und die #Türkei als neue Mitglieder bei der European Sky Shield Initiative #ESSI – mehr Mitglieder, mehr Sicherheit, weniger Kosten. Ein weiterer Erfolg ist der Vertragsabschluss mit Slowenien zum Kauf einer Feuereinheit #IRIST SLM. pic.twitter.com/LsHBb85EHK
— Verteidigungsministerium (@BMVg_Bundeswehr) February 15, 2024
In October 2022, the defense ministers of 15 NATO member countries (at that time there were 14 plus Finland) signed a Letter of Intent in Brussels to participate in and develop the German initiative for a common European missile shield. Denmark and Sweden joined in February 2023. Austria and Switzerland, despite maintaining their neutral status and not belonging to NATO, did not want to be left out of the defense umbrella and also signed a letter of intent to participate in ESSI in July last year.
The initiative will enable all participating nations to jointly develop an air defense system using interoperable, commercially available solutions. This multi-national, multi-faceted approach offers nations a flexible and scalable way to strengthen their deterrence and defense in an efficient and cost-effective manner.
Germany selected the Israeli Arrow 3 system to make up its missile shield and many of the other participating nations operate the US Patriot system. This would be the main reason why countries such as France and Italy did not join the ESSI, as they operate ASTER 30 SAMP/T missile systems (produced by MBDA), and believe that the common European air defense system should be supplied with locally produced hardware, and not depend on imports from third countries.
The Greek and Turkish Ministers of Defense have confirmed that they will soon be signing the Letter of Intent to participate in the ESSI, bringing the number of participating members to 21.
