The German government, convinced by the Russian invasion of Ukraine to invest massively in defense, is considering the acquisition of an Israeli anti-missile protection system, the daily Bild said on Sunday, March 27.
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The Iron Dome was tested through a range of complex scenarios and successfully intercepted and destroyed targets, simulating existing and emerging threats, including the simultaneous interception of multiple UAVs, as well as a salvo of rockets and missiles. (Picture source: Rafael)
The decision has not yet been taken formally but the Social Democratic Party of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the main formation of the ruling coalition, is in favor, specifies the most widely read daily in Germany. "We need to better protect ourselves against the Russian threat. For that, we need a missile shield on the scale of Germany quickly", explains Bild the rapporteur for the Bundestag for the defense budget, Andreas Schwarz. "The Israeli Arrow 3 system is a good solution", he adds about this Israeli anti-missile device intended to counter long-range missiles.
According to Bild, the system, inspired by the Israeli "Iron Dome", would cost around 2 billion euros and could be operational as early as 2025 from three sites in Germany. The shield would even be powerful enough to also cover Poland, Romania, and the Baltic countries.
Iron Dome is a mobile all-weather air defense system developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries. The system is designed to intercept and destroy short-range rockets and artillery shells fired from distances of 4 kilometers (2.5 mi) to 70 kilometers (43 mi) away and whose trajectory would take them to an Israeli populated area.
Iron Dome was declared operational and initially deployed on 27 March 2011 near Beersheba. On 7 April 2011, the system successfully intercepted a rocket launched from Gaza for the first time.[12] On 10 March 2012, The Jerusalem Post reported that the system shot down 90% of rockets launched from Gaza that would have landed in populated areas. In late 2012 Israel said that it hoped to increase the range of Iron Dome's interceptions, from a maximum of 70 kilometers (43 mi) to 250 kilometers (160 mi) and make it more versatile so that it could intercept rockets coming from two directions simultaneously.
In November 2012, official statements indicated that it had intercepted over 400 rockets. By late October 2014, the Iron Dome systems had intercepted over 1,200 rockets. In addition to their land-based deployment, it was reported in 2017 that Iron Dome batteries would in the future be deployed at sea on Sa'ar 6-class corvettes, to protect off-shore gas platforms in conjunction with Israel's Barak 8 missile system.
The Arrow 3 air defense missile system is able to destroy intercontinental ballistic missiles at a maximum range of 2,400 km and a maximum altitude of 100 km. (Picture source U.S. MDA)
The Arrow 3 or Hetz 3 is an exoatmospheric hypersonic anti-ballistic missile, jointly funded, developed and produced by Israel and the United States. Undertaken by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Boeing, it is overseen by the Israeli Ministry of Defense's "Homa" ("rampart") administration and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency. It provides exo-atmospheric interception of ballistic missiles (during the space-flight portion of their trajectory), including intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) carrying nuclear, chemical, biological or conventional warheads. With divert motor capability, its kill vehicle can switch directions dramatically, allowing it to pivot to see approaching satellites. The missile may have a reported flight range of up to 2,400 km (1,500 mi). According to the chairman of the Israeli Space Agency, Arrow 3 may serve as an anti-satellite weapon, which would make Israel one of the world's few countries capable of shooting down satellites.
