24 November 2023

Israel signs Arrow contract with Germany

by Nicholas Fiorenza

Israeli MoD Director General Eyal Zamir signed the final contract for the AWS sale to Germany on 23 November. (IAI)

The Israeli Ministry of Defense (MoD) announced on X (formerly Twitter) on 23 November that its Director General, Eyal Zamir, signed the final contract for the USD3.6 billion sale of the Arrow Weapon System (AWS) to Germany earlier the same day. In addition to the AWS and Arrow 3 missiles, the contract includes an initial package of spare parts and training of Luftwaffe crews.

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius and his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, signed a joint declaration of intent in Berlin on 28 September on Germany's AWS procurement for the Luftwaffe. This was followed by approval by the budget committee of the Bundestag, Germany's parliament, of the procurement of AWS and Arrow 3 missiles, announced by the German MoD on 19 October.

The procurement will be funded by the EUR100 billion (USD109 billion) Zeitenwende special fund approved by Germany after the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022.

Germany plans to start basing AWS at Holzdorf Air Base in central Germany in 2025, with an initial operational capability for the system planned by the fourth quarter of that year and a full operational capability in 2030. In addition to Holzdorf, AWS will be based in yet-to-be determined locations in northern and southern Germany.

The Israeli Ministry of Defense (MoD) announced on X (formerly Twitter) on 23 November that its Dire...

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