Israeli officials are in advanced talks with German counterparts over the sale to Berlin of the Arrow 3 anti-ballistic missile-defense system.
“The advanced negotiations were launched this week in Germany, with the aim of forging a detailed deal for the delivery of the Israeli Arrow 3 system,” the Israeli Defense Ministry announced on Thursday.
Germany first sought to purchase the Arrow 3 from Israel more than a year ago. One of the most advanced systems of its kind, it is employed to intercept exo-atmospheric ballistic missiles. The Israel Missile Defense Organization in the Ministry of Defense Directorate for Defense R&D, and the United States Missile Defense Agency jointly developed the system.
The primary contractor for the integration and development of the system is Israel Aerospace Industries, working with additional Israeli and American defense firms.
“The launch of advanced negotiations for the delivery of the strategic Arrow 3 system to Germany is an important milestone, which further strengthens the ties between our countries. We look forward to a fruitful negotiation process in the weeks ahead of us,” Israel Missile Defense Organization head Moshe Patel said on Thursday.
Senior Israeli and German defense officials met in Germany in December for the countries’ annual bilateral strategic dialogue, during which the potential purchase was discussed. Among the participants were IDF Maj. Gen. (res.) Amir Eshel, director general of the Defense Ministry, and Germany’s State Secretary for the Federal Ministry of Defense Benedikt Zimmer.
The lack of a green light from the United States has delayed the export of Arrow 3 to Germany, a Western technical observer previously confirmed to JNS.
Israel has worked for months to persuade the Biden administration to allow the sale to Berlin, which is keen on acquiring defenses against Russian threats.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz made an initial request for the system in a meeting with then-Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in March 2022.
