Israel Defense Ministry officials on Wednesday handed over the first operational Arrow 3 system to the German Army at a formal ceremony at a German Air Force base near Berlin, ministry officials said.
The development “marks a significant step in implementing the defense export contract signed between the two nations approximately two years ago, and is considered the largest defense export deal in Israel’s history,” according to an Israeli Ministry of Defense statement.
The Arrow 3 air-defense system, which is designed to intercept ballistic missiles outside the Earth’s atmosphere with exceptional long-range interception capabilities, has had hundreds of successful interceptions since the outbreak of war between Israel, Hezbollah and Iran, the statement said.
The event represented the first operational delivery under the landmark defense agreement signed more than two years ago. At an estimated value of $3.5 billion, the deal is the largest of its kind in Israel’s history.
The Israeli Defense Ministry’s director general, Maj. Gen. (res.) Amir Baram, commented on the symbolism of Israel providing Germany with defensive weapons during his speech at the handover ceremony.
“As a second-generation Holocaust survivor, I stand here deeply moved because a ballistic-missile defense system, developed by the finest Jewish minds in Israel’s aerospace industry, out of our existential necessity, will now help defend Germany,” he said during the handover ceremony.
Israelis, including descendants of Holocaust survivors, “want to see Germany strong and prosperous, proud and leading in Europe and throughout the world,” he added, and “deeply appreciate that Israeli systems are part of Germany’s renewed force build-up.”
The handover marks “only the beginning for Israel and Germany,” Baram said. “Our cooperation will strengthen and deepen—whether in the air, on land, or in space.”
The security needs of Germany and other European nations increased dramatically after war broke out between Russia and Ukraine in 2022.
Germany led the mobilization for Ukraine within the European Union, including supplying Ukraine with advanced weapons. Russia has increased its military activity against its European rivals and is believed to be behind repeated violations in recent months of sending drones into the airspace of E.U. countries.
The war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza prompted Germany and other European countries to change their military cooperation with the Jewish state. Germany, which is a major defense trading partner for Israel, suspended in August sales of military equipment that could be used in the Gaza Strip. Its government said last month that it would lift
these limitations.
Baram referenced this in his speech, saying, “Such an embargo should never have been imposed against Germany’s ally that is fighting murderous Islamist terrorism, whether it comes from Iran’s theocratic regime or from Hamas in Gaza.”
When Israel acts against “nuclear threats, ballistic missiles, and terrorism, we are not only defending ourselves—we are protecting the entire Western world. We are doing the hard work, sometimes the ‘dirty work,’ that the entire world should be doing. We will not allow new threats to emerge,” added Baram.
The Arrow 3 was jointly developed and produced by Israel’s Defense Ministry and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA). The prime contractor for developing the system’s radar, interceptors, and detection systems is Israel Aerospace Industries, while Elbit Systems developed the command-and-control system.
Israel’s Ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, called Germany “Israel’s most important ally in Europe” during the handover ceremony.
“Today, we mark another milestone in this relationship. Who could have imagined that only 80 years after the liberation of Auschwitz, the Jewish state, through the technologies it develops, would help defend not only
Germany but all of Europe,” he said.
Israel’s first operational Arrow 3 interception occurred in 2024, shooting down a missile launched at Israel from Yemen.
