Germany is considering purchasing a missile shield based on the Israeli model. The background is the war in Ukraine. But does Germany need an “Iron Dome”? And how would it work?
With a view to the Ukraine war and the threat from Russia, the federal government is examining the purchase of a missile defense shield. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has confirmed considerations of acquiring the Israeli “Iron Dome” missile defense system in view of the threat from Russia. “I can tell you that this is definitely one of the things we advise – for good reason,” said Scholz on Sunday evening on the ARD program “Anne Will”. However, the details of the project have “not yet been conclusively discussed”.
“We all have to prepare for the fact that we have a neighbor who is currently willing to use violence to assert his interests. That’s why we have to work together so strongly that this doesn’t happen,” said Scholz.
Anti-missile defense from Israel for Germany?
The Israeli system Arrow 3 is under discussion, as the chairwoman of the defense committee in the Bundestag, Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP), told the broadcaster Welt on Sunday. She traveled to Israel to discuss the defense system.
“In view of the threat situation and the different weapon systems that Russia has,” the federal government must also deal with a missile defense system, Strack-Zimmermann told the broadcaster. There are different options.
“The Israelis make something like that, so it makes sense not only to deal with these different scenarios, but also to buy them immediately if necessary,” continued the defense expert. “It all has to happen very quickly, but it also has to be discussed very seriously.”
Israeli system could be operational by 2025
The Israeli system would cost two billion euros, reported “Bild am Sonntag”, citing security circles. Since it is available on the market, it could be operational as early as 2025. “Iron Dome” (iron dome) is the name for a system of the Israeli missile defense system.
For the anti-missile shield, missile radar systems of the “Super Greene Pine” type would be set up at three locations in Germany, which would send their data to the national command post in Uedem, North Rhine-Westphalia. There, Air Force soldiers would evaluate the situation picture. In an emergency, one of the launchers distributed throughout Germany would launch an “Arrow 3” rocket, which would intercept and destroy an attacker rocket.
The Arrow system is developed and manufactured by the company Israeli Aerospace Industries in cooperation with the US aircraft manufacturer Boeing. It is capable of intercepting ballistic missiles above the atmosphere. Arrow-3 has been in service at Israeli Air Force bases since 2017.
SPD advocates purchase
According to “Bild am Sonntag”, the radar devices are so powerful that the protective shield could also cover Poland, Romania or the Baltic States. The neighboring countries would then have to buy Arrow 3 missiles, and Germany would provide the radar image.
The newspaper reported that a missile protection shield was the subject of a consultation between Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and Inspector General Eberhard Zorn this week about the use of the 100 billion euro special fund for the Bundeswehr. A decision has not yet been made, but the SPD supports the purchase.
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In Israel, the “Iron Dome” is deployed against Hamas rocket attacks. The defense system detects missiles and tries to destroy them with its own defense missiles. Since the threat against Israel comes from the nearby Gaza Strip, the range of the missiles is a maximum of 70 kilometers. However, this can only cover a zone with a radius of seven kilometers or about 150 square kilometers. A video from 2021 shows the “Iron Dome” intercepting missiles.
How the “Iron Dome” works
The “Iron Dome” is specially designed to ward off swarming rocket attacks, such as those carried out more frequently from the Gaza Strip. A battery consists of a radar, a control center and up to four launchers with 20 missiles each. A unit can capture over 1000 objects and fight six attacking objects at the same time. The processes run largely fully automatically. The missile defense shield system detects a launch, calculates the trajectory and impact location, and recommends a deployment, which can then be approved. In addition, the “Iron Dome” system can be regularly improved with updates. Even if this defense system works very well in Israel, it does not protect 100 percent.
However, the CDU has criticized the federal government’s considerations about the purchase of a protective shield against rocket attacks. “The resources would be used incorrectly if Germany now invests billions in a purely national, new missile defense system,” said the CDU foreign expert Roderich Kiesewetter the editorial network Germany (Monday editions). The defense system is powerless against Russia’s hypersonic weapons, and in any case the Federal Republic is currently not exposed to any acute threat.
Criticism from the CDU
“If there were a missile defense shield over Germany, one would assume that we would be shot at from across Poland,” said Kiesewetter. “That’s almost impossible at the moment.” Kiesewetter called on the federal government to first analyze soberly which diverse threats Germany is actually exposed to and which measures are really urgent and important. “Instead of billions in one ‘Iron Dome’ that our neighboring countries need much more urgently, we should provide the Bundeswehr and civil defense with better financial resources,” he said.
In principle, however, Kiesewetter advocates a stronger protective shield at NATO’s external border. “A protective shield over Germany and neighboring countries is not possible in the short term, but should be integrated into NATO air defense in the medium term,” he said.
Source: Stern
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