BERLIN
\nGerman lawmakers on Wednesday approved an advance payment for the purchase of the sophisticated Arrow 3 air defense system from Israel for nearly four billion euros ($4.3 billion).
\nThe budget committee in the lower house of parliament gave the green light for an initial payment of 560 million euros, a committee source told AFP.
\nThe long-range Arrow 3 system, designed to shoot down missiles above the Earth\u2019s atmosphere, is powerful enough to offer protective cover for neighboring European Union states.
\nThe committee also approved around 950 million euros for the purchase of six German-made Iris-T SLM air defense systems, the source said.
\nThe Arrow 3 system is expected to cost up to 3.99 billion euros in total, according to finance ministry documents seen by AFP.
\nThe money will come from a landmark 100-billion-euro fund unveiled by Chancellor Olaf Scholz to bolster the country\u2019s defenses in the wake of Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine.
\nIf the deal goes ahead as planned, a contract will be signed by the end of 2023 and Berlin expects the Arrow 3 system to be delivered in the final quarter of 2025.
\nThe 560 million euros are intended to set up manufacturing and production in Israel.
\nCommittee member Karsten Klein, from the liberal FDP, told AFP the release of the funds would help ensure Germany is \u201cequipped with modern air defense systems.\u201d
\nThe Iris-T system had \u201calready proven its reliability in Ukraine,\u201d he said.
\nAccording to Israeli manufacturer IAI, the Arrow 3 system is able to intercept ballistic missiles fired from a distance of up to 2,400 kilometers (1,490 miles).
\nThe system was first deployed in an Israeli air force base in 2017 and has been used to protect Israel against attacks from Iran and Syria.
\nThe German government has led a push to bolster NATO\u2019s air defenses in Europe after seeing Russia\u2019s relentless missile strikes on Ukraine, urging allies to buy deterrence systems together.
\nMore than a dozen European countries have so far signed up to the so-called European Sky Shield initiative.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BERLIN German lawmakers on Wednesday approved an advance payment for the purchase of the sophisticated Arrow 3 air defense system from Israel for nearly four billion euros ($4.3 billion). The budget committee in the lower house of parliament gave the green light for an initial payment of 560 million euros, a committee source told AFP. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":337723,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-337697","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n