Germany to Purchase Arrow 3 System: Media Report

By ARIE EGOZI

Space

Tel Aviv: Germany wants to purchase the Israeli Arrow 3 system designed to intercept ballistic missiles. German daily Bild was the first to report on the German interest in the Israeli very advanced system.

The Arrow 3 is manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). Recently, the system was upgraded to intercept new thetas and tested successfully against the simulated new threats mainly Iranian.

Israeli sources say that the Iranian with the help of North Korea are working on a new type of ballistic missiles that are intended to create the threats depicted in the Arrow  3 test.

The tests were conducted jointly by the Israel Missile Defence Organization (IMDO), its US counterpart the Missile Defence Agency (MDA) and the Israeli armed forces. According to the official announcement, operational radars detected the target and transferred data to the battle management control, which analysed the data and established a defence plan. After the defence plan was established, two Arrow 3 interceptors were launched toward the target and completed the mission.

The targets depicting some of these emerging threats in the test were developed by Israeli-firm Rafael, and were launched by Israeli Air Force F-15 over the Mediterranean.

The Arrow is a central part of Israel’s multi-layered defence array that also includes the Iron Dome Defence System and David’s Sling Weapon System. IAI is the primary contractor for the development of the Arrow Weapon System and Arrow interceptors, with a number of other Israeli firms involved in the project.

The German interest in the Israeli Arrow 3 began last year. A German delegation visited Israel and got detailed briefing about the systems. Israeli sources said on March 28 that the Russian invasion of Ukraine brought the Germans to look for other Israeli air defence systems, like the Rafael David’s Sling.