'Israel and Germany join hands today in building a safer future,' declares Gallant at signing of historic defense deal

Israel signed a letter of commitment on Thursday to deliver the Arrow-3 missile defense system to Germany, according to local media reports.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant represented Israel at the signing ceremony, while Defense Minister Boris Pistorius signed the agreement on behalf of Germany.

This will release €560 million (about $5.9 million) in funds to begin production and manufacturing of the three Arrow-3 batteries, which are expected to arrive in Germany by 2030.

Gallant praised the historic defense deal.

“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.”

“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,” he added.

Gallant pointed out that Israel, Germany and other partners share the threat of Iranian missiles and drones, mentioning Hezbollah in Lebanon and attacks against Gulf states.

“This is, without exaggeration, a historic day for both our nations,” Pistorius said.

He added that the war in Ukraine showed how important air defense is.

“Air defense is essential, especially for us in central Europe.”

Gallant and his German counterpart Pistorius signed a separate declaration to strengthen defense cooperation between the two countries.

The agreement to sell the missile defense system, jointly developed by the United States and Israel, represents the Jewish state’s largest-ever deal at approximately $3.5 billion.

The deal was funded as part of a special budget amounting to about €100 billion ($109 billion) to fund the continual modernization of the German armed forces in response to the Russian-Ukraine War.

The Arrow-3 missile defense system is designed to intercept long-range ballistic missiles and is reportedly capable of neutralizing non-conventional warheads at a safe altitude outside the earth’s atmosphere.

Arrow-3 is a complementary system to Israel’s Iron Dome, which has earned headlines due to its largely successful interceptions of incoming short-distance missiles from the Gaza Strip.