Tel Aviv: The contract worth US $ 3.5 billion for the sale of the Israeli Arrow-3 air defence system to Germany was signed on September 28 in Berlin, Germany.
On this occasion, a ceremony hosted by Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius was held at the German Ministry of Defence in Berlin. At the onset of the ceremony, the Ministers signed a joint declaration expressing their shared commitment to strengthening defence ties between their countries. This was followed by a brief signing ceremony during which the Director General of the Israel Ministry of Defence Eyal Zamir, and the Director-General of the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Annette Lehnigk-Emden, signed the letter of commitment necessary to proceed with the Arrow-3 agreement. The letter discusses a commitment that amounts to $600 million, and will enable the parties to begin working on the project immediately.
Israeli minister of defence, Yoav Gallant said that the “Arrow-3 for Germany” is the biggest agreement signed to date. “We are committed, to a timely and effective delivery. This agreement is tangible evidence that Israel and Germany are true partners.”
“Just as it [Arrow-3] guards Israel’s skies and saves lives, now it will also defend Germany and its citizens, and may integrate smoothly, with NATO systems. Today the State of Israel is prepared to expand our defence and industrial cooperation, with additional global partners,” the Israeli defence minister said.
“The Iranian fingerprint is everywhere – from the hundred thousand missiles provided by Iran to Hezbollah in Lebanon, to the weapons used for terror attacks against Israelis, and the missile attacks on our Gulf neighbours. The Iranian UAVs used to kill innocent civilians around the world serve as a preview for what the world will see if the missile embargo will expire next month. Iran will have a free pass to spread advanced missiles around the world,” he added.
-The writer is an Israel-based freelance journalist. The views expressed are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda
