Reuters
March 27, 2022

Germany eyes buying missile defence system, Chancellor Scholz says

Germany is considering purchasing a missile defence system to shield against a potential attack from Russia, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said late on Sunday.

“This is certainly one of the issues we are discussing, and for good reason,” he told public broadcaster ARD when asked whether Germany might buy a defence system such as Israel’s Iron Dome.

He did not specify what type of system Berlin was considering.

When asked whether Germany aimed to procure a missile defence system with a longer range than its existing Patriot batteries, Scholz said….

The Bild am Sonntag newspaper reported earlier a missile defence shield for the whole territory of Germany was one of the topics discussed when Scholz met with Eberhard Zorn, Germany’s chief of defence.

Specifically, they spoke about a possible acquisition of the Israeli “Arrow 3” system, the paper said.

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Andreas Schwarz, a member of parliament for Scholz’ Social Democrats who is a budget spokesperson, told the newspaper such a system made sense.

“We…need a Germany-wide missile defence shield quickly,” he told the newspaper, adding: “The Israeli Arrow 3 system is a good solution.”

In a landmark speech days after Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, Scholz announced that Germany would sharply increase its defence spending to more than 2% of its economic output and inject 100 billion euros ($110 billion) into defence.