Israel and Germany sign first part of record deal for Arrow 3 defense system

BERLIN — Israel and Germany sign a letter of commitment to move forward with delivering the Arrow 3 air defense system to Germany.

Signed by representatives for the Israeli and German defense ministries, the deal will release €560 million in funds approved by the German parliament in June, leading Israel to begin production and manufacture of the three Arrow 3 batteries expected to arrive on German soil by 2030. A spokesperson for the German Defense Ministry declines to confirm the number of batteries.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant hails the signed agreement as “a huge achievement for the defense industry,” moments after the letter of commitment is signed.

Gallant and his German counterpart Boris Pistorius, who are both at the defense ministry in Berlin to oversee the signing of the agreement, ink a separate declaration reinforcing the two countries’ defense cooperation.

The complete deal will come close to €4 billion, according to Israel Aerospace Industries chairman and CEO Boaz Levy, marking Israel’s largest-ever single defense contract.

A separate contract will be signed to complete the Arrow deal, after the German parliament is expected to approve the purchase in October.

The Arrow 3 system is designed to destroy space-borne projectiles before their reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere, including ballistic missiles and their warheads, and satellites. The US, which helped develop the system, approved the sale in August.

The missile defense system is expected to be part of the German-led European Sky Shield Initiative, aimed at beefing up continental Europe’s air defenses in response to Russian airstrikes in Ukraine.