Israel has never signed such a large military treaty. This Saturday, September 28, Germany announced the purchase of the Arrow-3 missile defense system from the Hebrew state for four billion euros. Enough to complete the European missile defense shield desired by Berlin.
Published on: September 28, 2023 – 7:54 p.m
2 minutes
With our correspondent in Berlin, Pascal Thibaut
The largest military treaty Israel has ever concluded was signed with Germany this Thursday, September 28th. Berlin will receive the Arrow-3 missile defense system, which allows the interception of vehicles at an altitude of up to 2,400 kilometers. This investment, which is expected to lead to the first deliveries in two years, is part of Berlin’s broader project for a European missile defense shield.
“This agreement moves every Jew, just 80 years after the end of World War II and the tragedy of the Holocaust,” said Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The latter wanted to see a strong signal in this agreement, which at the same time represents the largest military contract in the history of the Jewish state at four billion euros. His German counterpart Boris Pistorius was not disappointed and spoke of “a historic day for our two nations”.
The treaty is Germany’s response to the war in Ukraine and the need for Berlin to strengthen its defenses against a missile attack. The Bundeswehr special fund of 100 billion euros approved last year is intended to finance the deployment decided by Parliament. The United States, which co-developed the Arrow-3 missile defense system with Israel, gave the green light to the operation last month.
The skeptical experts
Berlin wants to integrate this device, which can intercept devices above the atmosphere, into the American Patriot air defense system and the Iris-T produced in Germany. These three elements are part of the European missile defense shield project presented by Berlin last year, to which 19 countries have joined, but which has drawn criticism in France.
Experts question the point of purchasing the Israeli Arrow-3 system if Russia does not currently have rockets that fly so high and for which this device would be necessary. It is also not clear whether Arrow-3 can be integrated into NATO’s defense.
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