by Yonah Jeremy Bob
Defense officials have told the Post that, following the Arrow's outstanding performance during the 2023-2025 war, several other countries are interested in purchasing the Arrow.
HOLZDORF AIR FORCE BASE, GERMANY - Germany on Wednesday deployed its Israeli-made Arrow air defense system at Holzdorf Air Force base with top Israeli defense officials and select media, including the Jerusalem Post, in attendance at a historic ceremony years in the making.
Defense Ministry Director-General Amir Baram flew to Germany on Monday, both to prepare the ground for the ceremony and to make progress regarding submarines Berlin is providing to Jerusalem, which, according to foreign reports, have nuclear weapons capabilities.
"It is an amazing historic moment when Israeli air defense technology protects Germany, despite the distant history of the Holocaust," Baram said.
The Jerusalem Post reported on Sunday that the ceremony and the unveiling were imminent for later this week.
This $3.6 billion deal will be the first time the Arrow 3 is deployed outside Israel. Continued movement on the issue comes on one hand as Berlin continues to buy weapons from Israel, while at the same time it is removing a temporary, but lengthy, weapons sales ban on Jerusalem over the recently concluded Israel-Hamas War.
Defense officials have told the Post that, following the Arrow's outstanding performance during the 2023-2025 war, several other countries are interested in purchasing the Arrow. However, Israel is not prepared to sell to just any country.
"This project would not have been possible without the deep friendship and trust between Germany, Israel, and the US. This is more than diplomatic cooperation, also based on shared values and true reliability," he said.
According to the air force, "Geopolitical realities demand unprecedented modernization of the Air Force and the closing of critical capability gaps. With the acquisition of Arrow, the Air Force is taking a decisive step toward strengthening Germany's and Europe's air defense. This system is designed to intercept and destroy incoming medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBMs) at very high altitudes – well over 100 kilometers and thus outside the Earth's atmosphere."
"Arrow utilizes so-called hit-to-kill technology, in which the interceptor missile directly strikes and destroys the target before the enemy warhead can enter the target area. This destruction at the edge of space is essential to minimize the danger posed by radioactive or chemical warheads and debris over populated areas," said the German air force.
Further, the German air force stated, "The national procurement from the German Armed Forces' special fund sends a clear signal to partners and fulfills a core requirement of this new era: ensuring security in all dimensions. The system is intended to form the top layer of a multi-layered defense shield, complemented by the Patriot systems. Phased Array Tracking Radar to Intercept on Target and IRIS-T SLM Infra-Red Imaging System–Tail/Thrust Vector-Controlled, Surface-Launched Medium Range, and is a central pillar of protection for Germany and its allies."
Former IDF air defense chief Brig. Gen. Ran Kochav told the Post, "Arrow 3 is the only system in the world that has demonstrated the ability to intercept ballistic missiles in real combat. In the Iron Swords War, we stood the ultimate test of fire - and we succeeded.”
“This is not just a technology sale. This is a deep strategic partnership with Germany and NATO, based on mutual trust and shared values of protecting civilian lives. Arrow 3 represents 30 years of research and development by IAI, Elta, and MLM. This is the pinnacle of Israeli engineering - a technology that only a few powers in the world are capable of developing,” said Kochav.
Moreover, he stated, "The deal will create thousands of quality jobs in Israel for the next decade, strengthen the high-tech defense industry, and establish Israel’s position as a global leader in air defense. Israel is the only country in the world with daily operational experience in operating a multi-layered defense. This knowledge, accumulated over tens of thousands of operational hours, cannot be bought - but we share it with Germany.”
“The war in Ukraine has proven that Europe needs ballistic missile defense. Arrow 3 provides the only proven solution today," added Kochav.
"States that fail to invest in defense jeopardize their security. Europe must be able to defend itself. Israel is a technological powerhouse. We must defend against high-altitude threats," Senior German defense official Jens Plotner said.
The Post learned back in 2024 that IMDO Director Mr. Moshe Patel, “Arrow 3” Project Head for Germany Colonel Carsten Koepper, and IAI’s Missiles and Space Division Head Mr. Guy Bar Lev were the lead parties, while the discussions also included representatives from IAI’s MLM Division and Elta.
Further, the ministry said in 2024 that the Arrow system, which includes the Arrow 2 and Arrow 3 interceptors, was developed in cooperation between Israel and the USA to counter long-range ballistic missile threats, with IAI as the prime contractor.
Progress on Israel-Germany submarine deals
While Baram and other senior defense officials have been in Germany, they have made new progress regarding the ongoing submarine deals, which have unique offensive and defensive capabilities.Multiple foreign publications have reported that Israeli submarines are part of a triad of nuclear deterrence, which Israel possesses along with land-based and air-based weapons. Though Israel has never publicly admitted to possessing nuclear weapons, former prime ministers like Ehud Olmert and others have, at times, slipped up and alluded to the weapons program.
Besides the offensive dimensions, the IDF made unusual disclosures during the 2023-2025 war about the involvement of submarines in operations against Iran, Yemen, and Syria, including operations that assisted with Israel's defense against aerial threats.
Movement on both the submarines and the Arrow - along with new levels of Israeli and German cooperation in other cutting-edge technologies, such as artificial intelligence - signals that the special relationship between Berlin and Jerusalem remains despite the recent war.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is due to visit Israel next week in parallel with sixty years of Israeli-German relations.
Regarding the Arrow, although the deal to provide it to Germany was already signed in 2023, the deal's strength was boosted threefold by the system’s stellar performance in 2024 and again in 2025. On April 13 and 14, the Arrow was instrumental in shooting down the vast majority of the 120 ballistic missiles that Iran fired at Israel.
On October 1, the Arrow did not shoot down as high a percentage of the 180 Iranian ballistic missiles fired on Israel, with reports that some dozens struck the Nevatim and the Tel Nof air force bases, but it was still viewed as performing at a high level. Moreover, sources have indicated that Israel may have decided to “allow” certain ballistic missiles through to those locations once it had already evacuated them of pilots and aircraft.
While both bases took on some significant damage, no pilots or aircraft were lost during the Iranian attack.In June of this year, the Arrow once again shot down a high percentage of Iranian missiles during the 12-day war with the Islamic Republic. Though far from hermetic, and 28 Israelis were killed and a much larger number wounded, the physical and economic harm was still very small in military terms compared to the 550 missiles Iran fired.
Yonah Jeremy Bob
Source: https://www.jpost.com/defense-and-tech/article-879068
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