Documents reviewed by Reuters on Friday reveal that Germany intends to purchase the Israeli "Arrow-3" missile defense system for approximately four billion euros (4.30 billion dollars). The German government will ask lawmakers next week to approve up to 560 million euros as an upfront payment. According to procurement documents prepared by the German Ministry of Finance for submission to the parliament, Berlin aims to finalize a deal with the Israeli government to acquire the "Arrow-3" system by the end of the year.
The documents further indicated that Germany would lose the advance payment or part of it if the deal fails, as the funds will be used to compensate Israel for costs incurred up until that point. The German Air Force is expected to receive the missile system by the fourth quarter of 2025, with the system's costs exceeding initial plans by approximately one billion euros.
The "Arrow-3" is designed to intercept ballistic missiles outside the Earth's atmosphere and represents the upper tier of Israel's missile defense systems, which range from the Iron Dome, which intercepts short-range missiles, to the long-range "Arrow-3," which destroys any unconventional warheads at a safe altitude.
