Germany is considering buying a new missile defence system in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, chancellor Olaf Scholz has said.
"We need to be aware that we have a neighbour who is prepared to use violence to enforce their interests,” the German leader said, referring to Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. He did not give any details about the type of system his government could purchase.
However, Andreas Schwarz, a politician belonging to Mr Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD), named the Israeli Arrow 3 system, which has the ability to take out long-range missiles, as a “good solution”.
"We must protect ourselves better against the threat from Russia. For this, we need a Germany-wide missile defence shield quickly," he told Bild am Sonntag.
Mr Scholz recently discussed the Israeli system with the head of the army, Eberhard Zorn, according to the German newspaper. The country’s defence ministry did not confirm or deny the report.
Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, who runs the parliament’s defence committee, also mentioned the possibility of buying the Israeli system. "Israel produces such a system and it makes sense to not only look into different scenarios but also to potentially buy it as soon as possible," she told Welt television.
Germany currently has Patriot air-defence missile units, but they do not offer protection across the whole country.
Berlin’s discussions on how best to protect itself come after the German chancellor announced a defence spending boost of 100 billion euros (£83.6bn) following Mr Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Reports suggest that countries such as the UK will pitch “aggressively” to win contracts from the German government after its jump in military spending.
