JERUSALEM, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- Israel announced on Wednesday that Germany has approved an expansion of an existing deal to purchase Israel's Arrow 3 missile defense system, adding about 3.1 billion U.S. dollars to the agreement.
The approval by the German parliament brings the total value of the Arrow 3 deal between Israel and Germany to more than 6.7 billion dollars, making it Israel's largest-ever defense export, according to a statement released by the Israeli Defense Ministry.
Under the expanded agreement, Israel and Germany agreed to significantly increase production rates of Arrow 3 interceptors and launchers to be supplied to Germany, a move Director General of Israel's Defense Ministry Amir Baram said would bolster Germany's air defense capabilities.
Israel and Germany signed the original Arrow 3 deal in 2023, valued at roughly 3.6 billion dollars. Final signing of the expansion is expected to take place on Thursday in Germany, the Defense Ministry said.
The ministry said the Arrow 3 system had demonstrated its operational capabilities during Israel's current multi-front war, citing "dozens" of successful interceptions.
The original deal, worth roughly 3.6 billion dollars, was announced in 2023 as part of the European Sky Shield Initiative, a project launched after 2022 to build a multi-layered air and missile defense system across Europe.
The Arrow 3 is a key component of Israel's multi-layered missile defense system, which also includes the Iron Dome for short-range rockets, David's Sling for medium- to long-range missiles, and the Arrow family for long-range ballistic missile interception, with Arrow 3 handling exo-atmospheric threats.
The system was jointly developed by Israel's Missile Defense Organization, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency and Israel Aerospace Industries, a government-owned company that serves as the project's main contractor. ■
