” The largest defense contract in Israel’s history “. It is in these terms that the Israeli Minister of Defense announced the agreement concluded with Germany, under the aegis of the United States, for the sale of the Israeli missile defense system Arrow 3, for the amount of 3 .5 billion dollars.
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The long range system Arrow 3 developed by Israeli industry in collaboration with the American aircraft manufacturer Boeing is an anti-missile device intended to intercept missiles above the atmosphere with a range that could go up to 2,400 km, a feat that until now that was the prerogative of France. It was designed to cope with the growing capabilities of regional adversaries ofIsrael such as Iran and Syria.
Germany wants to acquire a new air defense system as part of its rearmament decided after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Berlin, for its part, launched the “European sky shield” project last October, a project which aims to fill the gaps in European defense revealed by the war in Ukraine. Since then, 17 countries have joined. But the project, carried by the Germans, is contested at European level, in particular by France, which believes that European equipment should have been favored.
Thus, the medium-range ground-to-air defense system developed by France and Italy was not retained in this initiative, which favors American, German and Israeli equipment. It is therefore an industrial issue beyond the strategic issue.
Israel, a major defense player
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant called the deal “ largest in Israel’s history ” Who “ will help strengthen Israel and its economy “. According to him, the final contract should be signed by the end of 2023 after its approval by the German and Israeli parliaments, with delivery expected at the end of 2025.
Binyamin Netanyahu congratulated him on the “ biggest sale of defense equipment in the history of Israel. Based on history, the Israeli Prime Minister recalled in his statement that ” Seventy-five years ago the Jewish people were reduced to ashes in Nazi Germany “. ” Seventy-five years later, the Jewish state is giving Germany, another Germany, tools to defend itself […] What a historic turning point! “, he said, in reference to the Holocaust, the enterprise of extermination of the Jews of Europe led by Hitlerite Germany during the Second World War.
This agreement makes Israel a player “ important “, not only at the regional level, but also globally, said Miri Eisin, a former Israeli military intelligence officer, recalling that it is a purely “ defensive “.
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(And with AFP)