Missile firing / Envato Market

by Emmitt Barry, with reporting from Worthy News Jerusalem Bureau Staff

(Worthy News) – Israel formally delivered its Arrow-3 long-range missile defense system to the German Air Force on Wednesday, completing a landmark $4.6 billion deal — the largest defense export agreement in Israel’s history and the first time the cutting-edge system has ever been deployed by a nation outside Israel or the United States.

The handover ceremony took place at Holzdorf Air Base in eastern Germany, roughly 120 kilometers south of Berlin, where the first operational Arrow-3 battery is now active. Additional deployment sites will follow as part of Germany’s broader effort to strengthen continental air defenses under the European Sky Shield Initiative.

Senior Israeli officials attended the ceremony, including Defense Ministry Director-General Maj. Gen. (res..) Amir Baram, DDR&D chief Danny Gold, Missile Defense Organization Director Moshe Patel, and Israel Aerospace Industries CEO Boaz Levy. German military leaders were present as well, though Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and Chancellor Friedrich Merz did not attend.

Baram, the son of Holocaust survivors, called the handover a moment “deeply moving,” noting the profound historical reversal reflected in Israel now defending Germany.

“A ballistic-missile defense system, developed by the finest Jewish minds out of our existential necessity, will now help defend Germany,” he said. “We Israelis want to see Germany strong and prosperous. Our cooperation will only deepen — in the air, on land, and in space.”

Israel’s ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, echoed the sentiment, noting that the transfer comes during the 60th anniversary of Israeli-German diplomatic relations.

“Who could have imagined that only 80 years after the liberation of Auschwitz, the Jewish state would help protect not only Germany but all of Europe?” he said.

A Strategic Shift for Europe

Germany’s purchase of Arrow-3 is part of a sweeping reevaluation of European defense following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and a surge in Russian drone and missile activity around NATO airspace. German Defense Minister Pistorius said the system provides capabilities no other European country currently possesses.

“For the first time, this gives us early warning and protection against long-range ballistic missiles,” he told German media before the ceremony.

The Arrow-3’s arrival cements Germany’s role as a central pillar in Europe’s emerging multi-layered air defense architecture.

Combat-Tested Defense

Designed jointly by Israel’s Defense Ministry and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, Arrow-3 intercepts ballistic missiles outside the atmosphere. It has proven highly effective in real-world engagements, including an 86% interception rate against Iranian and Houthi missiles during the 12-day confrontation with Iran in June.

The system has successfully intercepted hundreds of ballistic threats in recent months, according to the Israeli Ministry of Defense.

A New Chapter in Israeli-German Defense Cooperation

The deal strengthens what both nations describe as a rapidly expanding strategic partnership. Germany has already integrated Israel’s TROPHY active protection system into its Leopard 2 tanks, fielded last month by both the German and Norwegian armies. Joint exercises and additional defense cooperation initiatives are ongoing.

Baram emphasized that Germany’s decision to lift its temporary arms restrictions on Israel was both welcome and necessary, calling the prior limitations a mistake.

“Such an embargo should never have been imposed,” he said. “When Israel defends against nuclear threats, ballistic missiles, and terrorism, we are protecting the entire Western world.”

As geopolitical tensions continue to rise across Europe and the Middle East, officials from both nations framed the Arrow-3 transfer not only as a military milestone but also as a symbolic convergence of history, security, and shared democratic values.

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