Israel gives Germany Arrow 3 missile defense system, in its largest defense export deal ever

Defence affairs ~ Def-Geopolitics

Israel hands over its Arrow 3 long-range missile defense system to the German Air Force in a ceremony at an airbase south of Berlin today, completing a €4 billion ($4.6 billion) sale, the largest defense export deal in Israel’s history.

The completion of the sale, which was formally agreed to in September 2023, represents the first time that the Arrow 3 system is being deployed beyond the borders of Israel and the United States, and the first time the advanced system is being operated independently by another country.

The system is first being deployed at the Holzdorf Air Base, some 120 kilometers (75 miles) south of Berlin, with additional sites to follow.

From the Israeli side, the ceremony is attended by Defense Ministry Director General Amir Baram; the chief of the ministry’s Directorate of Defense Research & Development, Danny Gold; Israel Aerospace Industries CEO Boaz Levy; the director of Israel’s Missile Defense Organization, Moshe Patel; and other top officials.

German media reported that German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and Chancellor Friedrich Merz would not be attending the ceremony, but other German military and defense officials were expected to be present.

The Arrow 3 system is designed to take out ballistic missiles while they are still outside of the atmosphere. It has downed hundreds of ballistic missiles launched at Israel by Iran and the Iran-backed Houthi terror group in Yemen, with an interception rate of 86% during the 12-day conflict with Tehran in June.

The sale represents part of the German-led European Sky Shield Initiative to beef up continental Europe’s air defenses in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Israel and Germany say that the agreement represents close and growing defense cooperation, which has included joint defense drills and the sale of the Israeli TROPHY active protection system for Germany’s Leopard 2 tanks. The first such tanks were rolled out last month to the German Army and the Norwegian Armed Forces.