Germany is building a second Arrow-3 missile defense site, expanding the Israeli-made system into Bavaria as Berlin races to create a national shield against long-range ballistic missile threats.
The Bundeswehr announced that the new southern operational position will be built in the greater Kaufbeuren area, complementing Germany’s first Arrow-3 battery near Berlin. That first deployment was the system’s first operational deployment outside Israel.
The Bavarian site will reportedly include radar infrastructure in the Kaufbeuren area, while interceptor launchers are planned for nearby Lechfeld Air Base. The goal is to give Germany the ability to detect and destroy ballistic missiles above the atmosphere, at altitudes of more than 100 kilometers.
For Israel, this is more than another defense export. Arrow-3 is one of Israel’s most strategic defense technologies, designed to intercept ballistic missiles before they reenter the atmosphere. Germany’s adoption of the system is a major vote of confidence in Israeli missile defense after years in which Europe ignored the ballistic missile threat.
