The Arrow 3 missile defense system is intended to protect European airspace from missiles in the future. Two locations are still being sought in Germany.
The Israeli missile defense system Arrow 3 should be operational from 2025 at the Holzdorf air base. The system closes a gap in the defense against long-range missiles, said Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz, Inspector of the Air Force, in an interview with the “Märkische Allgemeine Zeitung”.
Arrow 3 could also intercept nuclear missiles. The base is on the border with Saxony-Anhalt, mostly in Schönewalde (Brandenburg).
Two locations are still being sought
According to Gerhartz, two more of the systems are to be stationed in Schleswig-Holstein and Bavaria. The distribution creates a “so-called resilience,” he explained. For example, if a system fails. Both locations are still open. “We are looking in northern and southern Germany.”
The federal government has already initiated the financing for the system. The costs are estimated at almost four billion euros. The money is to be financed from the 100 billion special fund that was passed in response to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
Arrow 3 was jointly developed by Israel and the United States. On a German initiative, it is to become part of a European air defense system. As the highest tier of Israel’s multi-tiered missile defense system, it can destroy attacking weapon systems at altitudes of over 100 kilometers.
