Germany to increase Arrow 3 interceptor and launcher deal with Israel

JERUSALEM — Germany is set to sign an expansion of its Arrow 3 interceptors and launchers deal with Israel by an additional $3.1 billion Thursday, the Israeli Defense Ministry said Wednesday.

The expansion will be added to the original deal from two years ago, in which Germany purchased Arrow 3 interceptors and launchers for about $3.5 billion, bringing Germany’s total purchases of the Israeli Arrow 3 defense systems to about $6.5 billion.

The Israeli Defense Ministry said the countries agreed in the additional deal to “significantly increase the production rate of Arrow 3 interceptors and launchers to be supplied to Germany, substantially enhancing its air and missile defense capabilities.”

The overall roster of 30 new defense projects approved Wednesday by the Bundestag, Germany’s parliament, comes with a price tag of almost €50 billion, or $59 billion, per the Ministry of Defense in Berlin. The total number of projects this year is 103, at a cost of €83 billion, or $98 billion.

An agency spokeswoman there declined to name the funding amount dedicated specifically to new Arrow 3 work in this week’s batch, saying that information is deemed classified.

The announcement of the expansion of the Arrow 3 procurement comes amid geopolitical tension in Europe with the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, and five days after Germany accused Russia of an air traffic control cyberattack.

Several senior German officials also warned in November about a potential confrontation with Russia in the next four years. The latest was German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, who said about three weeks ago that new intelligence assessments show Moscow is preparing for a possible attack against a NATO member.

The first Arrow 3 system was delivered to Germany on Dec. 3, the first time a foreign country has received independent access to those defense systems. More Arrow 3 systems are expected to be delivered and deployed in Germany in the coming months.

The initial and follow-on transfers include launch systems, ammunition and radar, in what was described as one of Germany’s first major procurement contracts since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, and as Israel’s largest defense export deal to date.

The Arrow 3 is being developed and produced in an Israeli-American cooperation, with the Israel Aerospace Industries serving as the prime contractor for the development and production of the aerial defense system.

The Arrow 3 interceptors operate against exoatmospheric missiles and intercept ballistic missiles in space. Its first operational interception was recorded Nov. 9, 2023, when it destroyed a Houthi ballistic missile launched toward Eilat. The Arrow 3 was also Israel’s main interceptor against Iranian ballistic missiles during the countries’ 12-day June war.

Editor’s note: This story was updated after publication to correct the number of projects approved this week and this year, with corresponding total cost.

Tzally Greenberg is the Israel correspondent for Defense News. He has experience reporting on economic affairs as well as defense and cyber companies.

耶路撒冷——以色列国防部周三表示，德国将于周四与以色列签署一项价值 31 亿美元的“箭-3”拦截导弹和发射器交易扩充协议。

此次扩建将添加到两年前的原始协议中，当时德国以约 35 亿美元的价格购买了 Arrow 3 拦截器和发射器，使德国从以色列购买 Arrow 3 防御系统的总金额达到约 65 亿美元。

以色列国防部表示，两国在补充协议中同意“大幅提高向德国供应的Arrow 3拦截导弹和发射器的产量，从而大幅增强其防空和导弹防御能力”。

德国联邦议院（德国议会）周三批准的30个新国防项目总预算接近500亿欧元（约合590亿美元），柏林国防部的数据证实了这一数字。今年德国国防项目总数为103个，总预算为830亿欧元（约合980亿美元）。

该机构的一位女发言人拒绝透露本周拨款中专门用于新的 Arrow 3 项目的资金数额，称该信息属于机密。

在欧洲地缘政治紧张局势加剧、俄乌战争持续之际，以及德国指责俄罗斯对空中交通管制发动网络攻击五天后，俄罗斯宣布扩大 Arrow 3 采购规模。

多位德国高级官员曾在11月警告称，未来四年内可能与俄罗斯发生冲突。最近一位发出警告的是德国外交部长约翰·瓦德普尔，他大约三周前表示，新的情报评估显示，莫斯科正在为可能对北约成员国发动的袭击做准备。

首套“箭-3”系统于12月3日交付德国，这是外国首次独立获得该型防御系统。预计未来几个月内，将有更多“箭-3”系统交付德国并进行部署。

首批和后续交付的武器装备包括发射系统、弹药和雷达，这被描述为自 2022 年俄罗斯入侵乌克兰以来德国的首批重大采购合同之一，也是以色列迄今为止最大的国防出口交易。

Arrow 3 是由以色列和美国合作开发和生产的，以色列航空航天工业公司是该防空系统开发和生产的主要承包商。

“箭-3”拦截器用于拦截大气层外导弹和太空弹道导弹。其首次作战拦截记录于2023年11月9日，当时它摧毁了一枚胡塞武装向埃拉特发射的弹道导弹。在以色列与伊朗之间为期12天的六月战争中，“箭-3”也是以色列拦截伊朗弹道导弹的主要武器。

编者按：本文发表后进行了更新，以更正本周和今年批准的项目数量及其相应的总成本。

扎利·格林伯格是《防务新闻》的以色列记者。他拥有丰富的经济事务以及国防和网络安全公司报道经验。