The Russian invasion of Ukraine has raised many concerns around the world and in particular in Europe, as such a scenario – which until now seemed imaginary and impossible – has become a reality. This led many countries to decide on changing their military strategy, and increasing their budgets, so that they could defend themselves if necessary. As part of this trend, Germany and 13 NATO members announced today (Thursday) that they signed a letter of intent for the joint procurement of Arrow 3 and Patriot air defense systems.
At a value of billions of euros: the aerospace industry is close to an agreement on an arms deal with Germany
The fear of the spread of fighting in Europe: Germany received approval to purchase “Hats 3” from Israel
Full interception outside the atmosphere: a successful series of experiments in “Arrow 3”
The signing took place at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, and its signatories are Germany, Great Britain, Slovakia, Norway, Latvia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Finland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Romania and Slovenia. The German Minister of Defense explained: “We have not yet made a decision , but I think Arrow 3 is the right defense system for Germany.”
As you may recall, last April it was reported in the Jerusalem Post that Germany received permission from Israel and the United States to purchase the “Hats 3” anti-missile defense system. The possibility of such a deal also came up during Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s visit to Berlin last month, when a few days after the visit, Ben Caspit announced in “Maariv” that Israel Aerospace Industries was close to concluding an arms deal with Germany, worth 2.5 billion euros. It is estimated that the arms deal is part of Germany’s dramatic change in its perception of national security, due to the Russia-Ukraine war.
The successful experiment in Arrow 3. Credit: Spokesperson and Information Division at the Ministry of Defense
If the deal is signed, it will be one of the largest in the history of Israeli defense exports. Also, this will be the first time that “Hatz 3”, one of Israel’s advanced air defense systems capable of intercepting ballistic missiles at altitudes of over 100 km and with a reported range of up to 2,400 km, has been sold to another country.