The German government has decided to buy the Arrow 3 missile defense system, jointly produced by the US and Israel, news agency Bloomberg reports. The news comes against the background of the meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz in Berlin this afternoon. According to the report, the German government decided in favor of the Israeli system and against he US THAAD system produced by Lockheed Martin. According to previous reports, the initial cost of the system will be some €2 billion.
The request from Israel and the US to become the first customer for the ballistic missile interception system is part of a comprehensive shift in German foreign and defense policy announced by Scholz in the days following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Since then, German military and political delegations have visited Israel to discuss purchase of the Arrow system, according to reports.
Israel and Germany already cooperate on defense, including in UAVs. Israel Aerospace Industries and the Israel Air Force lease seven Heron-TP drones to the German army in a deal worth some €1 billion. It was recently decided to arm the drones with Israeli missiles, after years of discussion of the ethics of such a step.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on September 12, 2022.
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