The largest Israeli military deal with Germany facing delay by Washington
The Military Monitoring website reported that the United States is procrastinating in granting its approval for the Israeli occupation to sell the Arrow-3 missile defense system to Germany, according to the Israel Hayom newspaper.
Israel had asked the United States to approve the largest military deal in its history, worth 3 billion euros, regarding the sale of the Arrow-3 air defense system to Germany.
The Military Monitoring website reported that the system that Germany is working to acquire will be part of the European air defense program for NATO countries called the “European Sky Shield Initiative”.
According to the Jerusalem Post newspaper, Israeli Security Minister Benny Gantz held talks with his US counterpart Lloyd Austin about the deal, and the two sides, Germany and Israel, are waiting for US approval, explaining that if the deal is completed, it will be the first time that Israel sell this system to international client.
The Arrow-3 is one of the most advanced air defense systems in the occupation, capable of intercepting ballistic missiles at altitudes of more than 100 km, with a range of 2,400 km.
The Arrow-3 anti-ballistic missile system was developed by Israel Aerospace Industries with US funding, and given that 80% of the funds were provided by the US, it could object to any export of the system.
In addition, Arrow-3 also includes components developed by the United States that previously rejected requests from other countries to purchase the system.
The Arrow-3 has been in service with the Israeli Air Force since 2017.
The German Chancellor Olaf Scholz made an initial request for the regime when he met then-Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in March.
While the occupation agreed to the sale, the delay in the export was due to the disapproval of the United States, which had previously rejected requests from other countries to purchase the system.
But the Russian military operation in Ukraine prompted a reset of NATO’s position, with the allies significantly increasing their defense budgets as well as sending military equipment to Ukraine or neighboring countries.
It also raised hopes that Washington would give the green light to sell Arrow-3 to Berlin.
After the Russian military operation in Ukraine, Germany increased its defense budget to 2% of GDP.
It said it would establish a special fund of 100 billion euros ($97.6 billion) in order to rapidly upgrade its armed forces.
According to a poll published by the Tagesschau network, more than 70% of Germans oppose increasing military aid to Ukraine.
According to a Deutschland Trend survey, 41% of respondents considered Germany’s assistance to Ukraine adequate, and 30% excessive.
