The Strela 3 system protects against incoming nuclear, biological or chemical missiles.
Germany is negotiating the purchase of a system Arrow 3 anti-missile defense system in Israel as part of Berlin's efforts to strengthen its armed forces after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said during a visit to the German capital on Monday.
Germany increased its military spending after Russia sent troops into Ukraine in February and delivered aid and heavy weapons to Kyiv as part of an international response.
“Israel … will play a role in the creation of new German defense forces, mainly in the area of air defense,” Lapid told reporters, speaking alongside German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
full commitment to the security of Germany, the security of Europe, the ability of liberal democracies to defend themselves,” he added, Reuters reports.
Lapid described their talks as leading to a “possible deal in the future” but declined to specify the cost. Scholz said Germany would strengthen its defenses by buying more air defense systems in the future, and called the Arrow 3 system a “highly effective proposition,” but also declined to elaborate.
Arrow 3 interceptors are designed to fly outside the Earth's atmosphere , where their warheads detach to become kamikaze satellites, or “destruction machines,” that track and crash into targets. Such high-altitude damage is designed to safely destroy incoming nuclear, biological or chemical missiles.
One German government source told Reuters: “Yes, there is a plan to buy the Arrow 3, but nothing has been signed.”
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The two leaders also discussed efforts to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, with Scholz urging Tehran not to reject offers made by Europe.
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Lapid was also scheduled to visit the site of the 1942 Wannsee Conference, where the “final solution” — Nazi Germany's plan to exterminate the Jews — was laid out later Monday.
