(Adds details about the system and project requiring U.S. approval, additional comments, paras 4-5)
JERUSALEM, May 22 (Reuters) – An agreement relating to Israel’s sale of its Arrow-3 missile defence system to Germany will likely be signed within a few months, the head of the project’s main contractor said on Monday.
“We are moving ahead nicely toward a contract for Arrow-3,” Boaz Levy, CEO of state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) told a Reichman University conference near Tel Aviv. “And if I can provide a small prediction, I think this contract will be signed within a few months,” said Levy.
Germany has ramped up its military spending following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Arrow-3 is designed to intercept ballistic missiles outside of the earth’s atmosphere. It is the top layer of Israel’s missile defence array, which extends from Iron Dome that intercepts short-range rockets to Arrow-3’s long-range missiles that destroy any non-conventional warheads at a safe altitude.
On whether other European countries were in the market to buy the system, Levy said that “one can expect Arrow-3 to reach more countries, too.”
The project has U.S. backing so the sale would require approval from Washington.
IAI is the project’s main contractor and Boeing is involved in producing the interceptors. (Reporting by Maayan Lubell; Editing by Bernadette Baum)