The German Parliament approved this Wednesday the first tranche of funding for Germany to purchase an Israeli missile defense system as part of a rearmament program following the invasion of Ukraine, according to parliamentary sources.
The Arrow 3 anti-missile system, worth 3,990 million euros, is equipped with radars, launchers and guided missiles capable of destroying targets outside the atmosphere.
According to the France-Presse (AFP) news agency, the budget committee of the German Chamber of Deputies has allocated the first 560 million euros for a pre-contract agreement with Israel.
“[O governo alemão] intends to realize the national potential of territorial defense against missiles as soon as possible through the planned acquisition of the Arrow military system, ”the German Ministry of Finance emphasizes in a document addressed to the budget commission.
The Israeli military system should “contribute to the protection of Germany, the population and critical infrastructure from ballistic missiles,” the same document justifies.
The Arrow 3 has been in use at Israeli airbases since 2017 and is designed to defend against long-range missiles, allowing Israel to protect itself from attacks from Iran or Syria.
The system is capable of intercepting ballistic missiles fired at ranges up to 2,400 kilometers above the atmosphere and is considered “effective enough” to protect also neighboring countries of the European Union (EU) if it were installed in Germany.
Arrow missiles have a much longer range than the Patriot air defense system and the IRIS-T system used in Germany to date.
The government agreement with Israel should be completed by the end of 2023, the German finance ministry said, recalling that the American construction company Boeing, together with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), participated in the creation of this weapon system.
The total cost of the system, which will be delivered by the end of 2025, is 3,990 million euros at current prices.
After decades of defense underfunding, Germany, through Social Democratic Chancellor Olaf Scholz, announced a change of stance, promising to unlock a €100 billion investment for this purpose.
The Budget Committee also approved the acquisition of six additional German-made Iris T SLM air defense systems, worth around 950 million euros.
Arrow 3 will complement Germany’s current missile defense system. The system could make a decisive contribution to the European Sky Shield project.
Olaf Scholz’s initiative to create a European air and missile defense system through the joint acquisition of equipment and missiles has already brought several countries of the continent closer, but not France or Poland.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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