This marks the first time that the Arrow 3 system will be deployed outside of Israel.
By Vered Weiss, World Israel News
Israel’s Defense Ministry is working with its German counterpart to deliver the Arrow 3 missile defense system to Germany by 2025.
In addition to the two countries’ defense ministries, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and the Israeli defense company Elbit Systems, along with MBDA Deutschland GmbH, are involved in the deal.
The United States and Israel developed the Arrow 2 and Arrow 3 systems to detect, intercept, and eliminate long-range ballistic missiles.
Although Germany has stopped its sale of weapons to Israel amid controversy over the Gaza war, it nonetheless is preparing to purchase Arrow 3 from Israel for $3.5 billion.
This marks the first time that the Arrow 3 system will be deployed outside of Israel.
According to the deal, the Arrow 3 system will be delivered to Germany in 2025, but there is some indication it could be deployed earlier than that.
Germany and other European countries are seeking to boost their defense systems amid concerns over the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
Arrow plays a pivotal role in Israel’s defense system, along with Iron Dome, which deals with shorter-range threats such as rockets, and David’s Sling, which intercepts mid-range missiles.
Arrow 2 is focused on dealing with long-range ballistic missiles, whereas Arrow 3 neutralizes missiles before they re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere.
The effectiveness of the Arrow system in fending off Iran’s missile and drone attack on Israel in April prompted other countries to become interested in purchasing Israel’s missile defense system.
In November 2023, Israel’s Defense Ministry said, “The Arrow-3 missile defense system constitutes the forefront of global technology, designed to intercept exo-atmospheric ballistic missiles. The Arrow-3 system also carried out its first operational interception during the Swords of Iron Operation, successfully destroying a target launched towards Israel in the Red Sea region. ”
The IAI is the main contractor for Arrow 3’s development and production, as well as its interceptions and radar detection system; Elbit is the command and control system developer.
Tomer and Rafael Advanced Systems are subcontractors for developing and producing the Arrow-3 interceptor.