Germany to invest $4.3 billion in Israeli Arrow 3 ABM system: Reports

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
11 Jun 2023 00:23
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The German government will reportedly approve an initial payment of $495 million by next week.

Israeli Arrow 3 anti-missile system (Israeli Ministry of Security)

Reuters reported that Germany is looking to acquire the Arrow 3 missile defense system from "Israel" by the end of 2023 as a preemptive countermeasure against alleged potential threats from Moscow.

The German government will reportedly approve an initial payment of $495 million by next week.

The total cost of the deal is estimated at about $4.3 billion, according to Reuters.

The Arrow 3 missile system intercepts ballistic missiles outside the Earth's atmosphere. The Arrow serves as the upper layer of the integrated Israeli missile defense system that does also compromise the Iron Dome and the David Sling missile defense systems.

It was reported earlier in May that the Israeli occupation and Germany are likely in the upcoming months to sign an agreement regarding the sale of the occupation's Arrow-3 anti-missile system to Berlin, the head of the project's main contractor said.

Reportedly, Isreal Aerospace Industries (IAI) CEO Boaz Levy said the occupation was "moving ahead nicely toward a contract for Arrrow-3."

"And if I can provide a small prediction, I think this contract will be signed within a few months," Levy said during a press conference in "Tel Aviv".

The United States and the Israeli occupation approved in April the sale of the Arrow-3 system to Germany.

German air force official Ingo Gerhartz told the Jerusalem Post newspaper that the purchase of the air defense system "starts with the approval of Israel and the United States, and they gave us the approval."

"They gave us the approval that we can cooperate on it. But, we still have to talk about the details," the official was cited as saying.

Last week, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that in 2024, Germany will be sending two warships to the Indo-Pacific under the pretext to safeguard the so-called "rules-based international order".

This comes in light of increased NATO activity in the region since the US labeled China a security challenge a year ago.

"These deployments — I want to make this very clear — are not directed against any nation," he said, adding that Berlin is committed to safeguarding peace and security in the Indo-Pacific and plans to strengthen its influence and alliances in the region in the years to follow.