Germany Green-lights $3.1B Arrow 3 Expansion as Shield Against Russia’s Hypersonic Missiles

Germany has signed a $3.1 billion contract expansion to increase its procurement of the Israeli-made Arrow 3 missile defense system, taking the combined value of the agreements to about $6.7 billion and marking Israel’s largest-ever defense export deal, according to Defense Express on January 12. 

The expansion adds to Germany’s 2023 purchase of Arrow 3, which Berlin has pursued to strengthen long-range air and missile defense amid concerns about threats from Russia, including intermediate-range ballistic missiles such as the Oreshnik.

Arrow 3, developed by Israel Aerospace Industries in cooperation with the US Missile Defense Agency, is designed to intercept ballistic missiles outside the atmosphere at altitudes above 100 kilometers, German military and media reports said. 

Germany inaugurated the first elements of the system at the Schönewalde/Holzdorf site south of Berlin on December 3, with Defense Minister Boris Pistorius saying the capability was “unique among our European partners” and would help protect “not just ourselves but also our partners.” 

German authorities have said the system is expected to be rolled out to additional sites and reach full operational capability by 2030. 

Earlier, it was reported that Germany’s newly deployed Arrow-3 battery was still not fully operational and would have been unable to intercept Russia’s “Oreshnik” intermediate-range ballistic missile due to limited readiness and the target’s extreme speed.

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