VIDEO Germany deploys €3.6bn weapon to counter Russian ballistic missiles like Oresnik: A 'unique, strategic capability'
Deployment of the Arrow system at the Annaburger Heide Air Base in Schoenewalde / Holzdorf, eastern Germany, on December 3, 2025. PHOTO: RALF HIRSCHBERGER / AFP / Profimedia
Germany on Wednesday became the first European country to deploy the Arrow air defense system, built to intercept medium-range ballistic missiles such as Russia's Oresnik, in an attempt to counter what it sees as a growing threat from Moscow.
The anti-aircraft system, developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) in cooperation with the US Missile Defense Agency, is used as the top layer of Israel's missile defense system, along with the Iron Dome, which eliminates short-range threats.
“Who could have imagined that, only 80 years after the liberation of Auschwitz, the Jewish state, through the technologies it develops, would help defend not only Germany, but the whole of Europe,” said Israel's ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor.
A number of countries have expressed interest in acquiring the technology as the Arrow helped counter Iran's missile attacks on Israel in April and October 2024, according to IAI.
Operating at altitudes of more than 100 kilometers (62 miles), outside the Earth's atmosphere, and with a range of 2,400 kilometers, the stationary system complements short-range air defense systems such as Patriot and IRIS-T, which are mounted on trucks.
“We don't just protect ourselves, we also protect our partners”
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius emphasized the value of the system for early warning and protecting the population and infrastructure.
“With this strategic capability, unique among our European partners, we secure our key role in the heart of Europe,” the Berlin official said in a statement.
“In this way, we are not only protecting ourselves, but also our partners. By doing so, we are strengthening the European pillar of NATO and fulfilling a NATO objective,” Pistorius added.
A ceremony marking the deployment of the system was held at an air base in Holzdorf, located about 100 kilometers south of Berlin. Germany aims for the system, which is designed to cover the entire country and will be deployed in three locations in the north, south and center, to be fully operational by 2030.
Germany acquired the Arrow system in 2023 for a total cost of 3.6 billion euros ($4.18 billion) because it considers Russian medium-range missiles to be the main threat to the population and critical infrastructure.
The Arrow system can detect and intercept missiles with a range of more than 1,000 kilometers, launched from land, air or sea, thus filling a critical gap in the country's territorial defense.
Shorter-range Russian Iskander missiles deployed in the Kaliningrad enclave, about 500 kilometers from Berlin, are considered a threat to be countered mainly by Patriot air defense units.
NATO's eastward expansion has shifted the line of defense to countries such as Poland and the Baltic states. However, Germany remains a key area in the event of an armed conflict.
As of today, Berlin is protected by the Israeli Arrow 3 missile defense system. The grandchildren of the people nearly exterminated by the Germans are now making Germany safe for the German people. We do not live in the past. We live in the future. pic.twitter.com/irvmafVxxV
— Uri Kurlianchik (@VerminusM) December 3, 2025
