Germany to become first country outside Israel to operate Israeli Arrow defense system

Germany will this week officially become the first country outside the Jewish state to operate the Israeli-developed Arrow 3 aerial defense system, the Jerusalem Post reported on Sunday. The Arrow 3 system played a critical role in intercepting the large majority of some 550 incoming Iranian ballistic missiles during the 12-day-war between Israel and Iran in June, known in Israel as Operation Rising Lion. The Arrow system also played a central role in largely successfully intercepting missiles fired by the Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist militia in Yemen.

While highly precise and robust, the Arrow 3 system is not 100% accurate and some Iranian and Houthi missiles succeeded in penetrating Israeli aerial defenses, killing and harming Israeli civilians and causing physical damage. 

It was reported already in June 2023 that Germany wanted to invest 4 billion euros ($4.30 billion) in the Israeli aerial defense system amid threats from Russia against Western Europe. 

Germany is one of Israel's strongest allies in the European Union and the second-largest exporter of military equipment to the country after the United States. Israel primarily acquires military vessels and submarines from Germany.

Berlin has largely backed Israel’s right to self-defense against the Iranian-led terrorist proxy axis, which includes Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and other Tehran-loyal militias in Syria and Iraq. However, domestic anti-Israel pressure eventually led the German government to impose an arms embargo on Israel earlier this year in response to the war against Hamas in Gaza.

Earlier this month, Germany announced its decision to lift its three-month military embargo on Israel and resume its support for the Jewish state. Berlin’s political reversal is to a large extent likely linked to Germany’s own reliance on importing advanced Israeli military platforms such as the Arrow 3 system. 

In November 2024, Israel confirmed that it would deliver the Arrow 3 defense system to Germany in 2025. Israel’s then Defense Minister Yoav Gallant presented the Arrow 3 deal as an indicator of the close bilateral defense ties between Germany and Israel. 

“Since the establishment of our ties, Germany has contributed greatly to Israel’s security. Today we are proud to do the same for Germany – a strategic ally and European leader,” Gallant stated. He also addressed the dramatic transformation in relations between Germans and Jews since the Second World War. 

“Only 80 years since the end of the Second World War, yet Israel and Germany join hands today in building a safer future, for both nations,” Gallant assessed.

In May, German Air Force Commander Lt. Gen. Ingo Gerhartz visited Israel to personally inspect the progress in the construction of the Arrow 3 defense system earmarked for Germany. 

“With Arrow 3, Germany is acquiring an Israeli weapons system that will help protect Germany from aerial threats,” Gerhartz assessed at the time.

“My first visit abroad as Air Force Inspector was to Israel in 2018, shortly after I assumed the position – and now, seven years later, I’m here again for my final visit. I’ve come full circle,” the German air force commander concluded. 

With a deployed Israeli Arrow 3 defense system, Germany will become the first European nation with the capability to intercept hostile missiles at an altitude of up to 100 kilometers (about 62 miles) outside the atmosphere. 

Germany’s overall aim is to deter hostile countries like Russia or Iran to fire ballistic missiles against its airspace.