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| Germany Plans to Purchase Israel's Arrow 3 Missile System |
Berlin - Germany are in talks to buy the Arrow 3 missile defense system from Israel . The move is part of Berlin's efforts to strengthen its Armed Forces, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Germany has increased its military spending after Russia sent troops to Ukraine in February. Germany also sent aid and heavy weapons to Kiev, as part of the international response.
"Israel will play a role in building Germany's new defense force, especially in the field of air defense," Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid told reporters after speaking with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. "It has to do with our total commitment to the safety of Germany, to the safety of Europe, to the ability of liberal democracies to defend themselves," he added.
Lapid described their talks as leading to a "possible future deal", but declined to elaborate on the costs. While Scholz said Germany would strengthen its defenses by buying more air defense systems in the future. He also called the Arrow 3 system a "high-performance offering", but also declined to go into specifics.
The Arrow 3 defense systems are designed to fly beyond Earth's atmosphere, where their warheads detach into "kamikaze" satellites, or "kill vehicles" that track and hit targets. Such high-altitude firing is intended to destroy incoming nuclear, biological, or chemical missiles safely.
A German government source told Reuters it was true that there were plans to buy the Arrow 3, but nothing was signed. Meanwhile, German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht again rejected demands to supply Kiev with main battle tanks.
"So far, no country has sent a Western-made infantry fighting vehicle or main battle tank," Lambrecht said. "We have agreed with our partners that Germany will not take such action unilaterally," he continued in Berlin.