Germany to activate Arrow 3 missile shield this week

NUREMBERG, Germany — Germany’s first long-range missile shield will enter service in an initial configuration on Wednesday, based roughly 40 miles south of the capital, Berlin, German media reported today.

The declaration of initial operational capability is expected to draw top defense officials to the interceptor host airbase of Fliegerhorst Holzdorf/Schönewalde, which straddles the states of Brandenburg and Saxony-Anhalt, on Dec. 3, newspaper Tagesspiegel reported on its website.

A German Air Force spokesperson declined to confirm the pending deployment when asked by Defense News, citing a policy of not commenting on future events.

The government in 2023 decided to buy a total of three batteries of the Israeli-American Arrow 3 system as one of the most significant defense procurements following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Berlin’s subsequent rearmament. Every battery contains four launchers, which are each in turn loaded with six fire-ready missiles.

The total contract is worth around $4 billion.

The first battery will be deployed in line with the accelerated schedule outlined at the time of procurement, executives at manufacturer Israel Aerospace Industries have said.

In its envisioned final setup, the missile shield will consist of additional batteries in the very north of the country, in Schleswig-Holstein, and one in Bavaria, covering the south of Germany, by the end of the decade, the news service RND reported shortly after the 2023 deal.

This week’s envisioned activation marks the first deployment of Arrow 3 outside of Israel. It also allows Germany to further stake its claim as the champion for Western Europe’s air defense, after launching the European Sky Shield Initiative − a joint procurement and interoperability push for air defenses − in 2022. ESSI now counts 24 member states stretching from the Arctic Ocean to the Middle East.

Arrow 3’s interceptor missiles reportedly have a flight range of 2,400 kilometers and an operating ceiling of 100 km. They intercept incoming ballistic missiles during their travel time through space , a capability proven effective on several occasions in the Middle East.

For example, an Israeli Arrow 3 intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Yemen on Nov. 9, 2023, marking the first wartime use of the system. It has also shot down Iranian ballistic missiles, according Israeli officials.

Its predecessor, Arrow 2, was used in the first exoatmospheric combat engagement in history.

Linus Höller is Defense News' Europe correspondent and OSINT investigator. He reports on the arms deals, sanctions, and geopolitics shaping Europe and the world. He holds master’s degrees in WMD nonproliferation, terrorism studies, and international relations, and works in four languages: English, German, Russian, and Spanish.

德国纽伦堡——据德国媒体今天报道，德国首个远程导弹防御系统将于周三以初始配置投入使用，该系统位于首都柏林以南约 40 英里处。

据《每日镜报》网站报道，预计12月3日，高级国防官员将齐聚位于勃兰登堡州和萨克森-安哈尔特州交界处的霍尔茨多夫/舍内瓦尔德拦截机基地，共同见证初始作战能力的宣布。

当《防务新闻》就即将进行的部署向德国空军发言人询问时，该发言人拒绝证实，并援引了不对未来事件发表评论的政策。

2023年，政府决定采购三套以色列-美国联合研制的“箭-3”导弹系统，这是继俄罗斯入侵乌克兰和柏林随后重新武装之后最重要的国防采购之一。每套系统包含四个发射装置，每个发射装置装载六枚随时可以发射的导弹。

合同总价值约为40亿美元。

制造商以色列航空航天工业公司的高管表示，首块电池将按照采购时制定的加速计划进行部署。

据 RND 新闻社在 2023 年协议达成后不久报道，根据设想的最终方案，到本十年末，导弹防御系统将在德国最北部的石勒苏益格-荷尔斯泰因州增设导弹防御系统，并在巴伐利亚州增设一个导弹防御系统，覆盖德国南部。

本周的预定部署标志着“箭-3”导弹首次在以色列境外部署。这也使德国进一步巩固了其作为西欧防空领军者的地位。此前，德国于2022年启动了“欧洲天空之盾倡议”（ESSI），这是一项旨在促进防空系统联合采购和互操作性的计划。ESSI目前拥有24个成员国，其范围从北冰洋延伸至中东。

据报道，箭3型拦截导弹的飞行距离为2400公里，作战高度为100公里。它们在来袭弹道导弹穿越太空的过程中进行拦截，这一能力在中东的多次行动中已被证明是有效的。

例如，2023年11月9日，以色列的“箭-3”导弹防御系统拦截了一枚从也门发射的弹道导弹，这是该系统首次在战争中使用。据以色列官员称，该系统还击落过伊朗的弹道导弹。

它的前身“箭2号”曾用于历史上首次大气层外作战。

林努斯·霍勒是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者和开源情报调查员。他报道影响欧洲乃至全球的军火交易、制裁和地缘政治。他拥有大规模杀伤性武器不扩散、恐怖主义研究和国际关系三个硕士学位，并精通英语、德语、俄语和西班牙语四种语言。