BERLIN – Israel’s decision to sell its Arrow 3 air defense system to Germany will benefit the future of military cooperation between the two countries, Defense Ministry Director-General Amir Baram told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday.
“When we give the German industry the capability to invest and to make some more Arrow 3 interceptors, it’s not that we would have less of it,” he said on Germany’s Holzdorf Air Force Base.
“By having Germany with us, it means that both countries will have more. We will have more interceptors, and they will have interceptors faster compared to what they would have had if they had done it alone.”
Baram: 'Incredible to see Israeli tech protecting Germany'
Baram stated that it was “amazing” to see Israeli tech protecting Germany, even with the dark history of the Holocaust.
“We have our past – I talked about it. We have the present, but we also have the future, and Germany is our most important strategic partner in Europe. We need Germany. Germany needs us. Both people will enjoy this partnership.”
“We are very, very glad that we met this milestone,” Moshe Patel, director of the Israeli Missile Defense Organization, told the Post, referring to the delivery of the Arrow 3 to Germany.
“It’s exactly on time as we promised, as we have in our contract, even before [the Israel-Hamas War].”
Patel could not confirm whether the war accelerated the process, as the world saw the Arrow 3 in action during the Iran war in June.
“What I can say is that for sure we can prove that the Arrow 3 is combat-proven and can intercept long-range ballistic threats. And, of course, during the war, we improved our system and made it better and better,” he explained.
“So what Germany is going to receive is something which is combat-proven and after a long process of improvements.”