The White House has signed off on Israel selling its advanced air defense system to Germany. The Arrow-3 is a joint US-Israeli weapons system that Berlin will purchase for $3.5 billion from Tel Aviv.
The Israeli Defense Ministry announced the sale on Thursday, saying the agency had received Washington’s approval. “The Minister of Defense…received a message tonight (Thursday) from the US State Department about the administration’s decision to approve The huge deal with Germany for the purchase of the defense system [Arrow-3],” the press release said.
It noted the sale was the largest weapons agreement in the country’s history at $3.5 billion. The Arrow-3 air defense system was developed jointly by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Boeing. The missile interceptor system is designed to work at higher altitudes – outside of the atmosphere – than other American air defenses, such as the Patriot or Aegis.
The Economic Times reports the sale also shows Western arms manufacturers are backlogged with orders for other air defense systems such as the German-made IRIS-T. NATO members have been supplying Ukraine with Patriot and NASAMS interceptors.
Germany will begin paying for the system with a $600 million installment this year. Berlin hopes to receive the Arrow-3 in 2025.
