Israel Signs Record Export Agreement With Germany to Deliver Arrow 3 Missile Defense System

Germany strengthens European air defenses by becoming the first foreign operator of Israel’s Arrow 3 in a €4 billion defense transaction.

The German Air Force has formally received Israel’s Arrow 3 long-range missile defense system, concluding the €4 billion transaction—the biggest defense export agreement in Israel’s history.

In eastern Germany, at Holzdorf Air Base, some 120 kilometers south of Berlin, the handover ceremony was held on Wednesday. The Arrow 3 system is being deployed for the first time outside of Israel and the United States, and it is also the first time that another nation will operate the cutting-edge capabilities on its own. The system will be deployed later to other German sites.

Senior Israeli defense officials, including Amir Baram, the director general of the defense ministry, Danny Gold, the head of the ministry’s Directorate of Defense Research & Development, Boaz Levy, the CEO of Israel Aerospace Industries, and Moshe Patel, the director of the Missile Defense Organization, were present at the ceremony. German media reported that Chancellor Friedrich Merz and German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius were not present, but other military and defense officials were.

Baram said he was touched by the moment’s significance. He declared, “As a second-generation Holocaust survivor, I stand here deeply moved because a ballistic missile defense system, developed by the finest Jewish minds in Israel’s aerospace industry, out of our existential necessity, will now help defend Germany.”

“As the descendants of Holocaust survivors, we Israelis want to see Germany stand tall, thrive, and take the lead both in Europe and globally. We are quite grateful that Israel’s systems are a part of Germany’s new military build-up. The handover today is just the start for Germany and Israel. Whether on land, in space, or in the air, our collaboration will grow stronger and more profound,” he added.

For lifting the arms embargo on Israel, he praised Berlin. An embargo of this kind should never have been placed on Germany’s friend who is battling deadly Islamist terrorism, whether it originates from Hamas in Gaza or Iran’s theocratic government. By taking action against terrorism, ballistic missiles, and nuclear threats, Israel is not only protecting itself but also the entire Western world. The “dirty work,” or the laborious tasks that the entire globe ought to perform, is what we are doing,” Baram continued.

Ron Prosor, Israel’s ambassador to Germany, emphasized the stronger ties between the two nations. Germany is the most significant ally of Israel in Europe, and our alliance is strategic. We’re celebrating yet another significant day in our partnership. Who would have thought that the Jewish state, with the technologies it creates, would aid in the defense of Germany and all of Europe just eight decades after Auschwitz was liberated? This was unimaginable to my family, who left Germany on the eve of the Holocaust,” Prosor remarked.

While ballistic missiles are still outside of Earth’s atmosphere, the Arrow 3 intercepts them. During a 12-day conflict with Iran in June, Israeli troops intercepted 86% of ballistic missiles fired by Iran and the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen.

In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the agreement is a component of the European Sky Shield Initiative, which is sponsored by Germany and aims to improve continental air defense.

“This gives us the capability for early warning and protection of our population and infrastructure against long range ballistic missiles for the first time,” Pistorius stated prior to the event. “We secure our central role at the center of Europe with this strategic capability, which is unique among our European partners,” he continued.

Both countries claim that the pact strengthens their growing defense connections, which include cooperative exercises and Germany’s acquisition of the Israeli TROPHY active protection system for its Leopard 2 tanks, the first of which went into service last month.