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MILITARY

Germany acquires ‘historic’ air defence system

Germany on Thursday signed a deal to acquire the Israeli-made Arrow 3 hypersonic missile system that will become a key part of Europe's defence against air attack.

Published: 28 September 2023 15:56 CEST
Arrow 3
Boris Pistorius of the SPD shakes hands with Yoav Galant, defence minister of Israel. Photo

The signing of the deal was a “historic day” for both countries, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said at a press conference alongside his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant.

Worth around $3.5 billion (€3.3 billion), the sale is the biggest ever deal for Israel’s military industry.
The Arrow 3 system would make “German air defence ready for the future”, Pistorius said.

Germany has led a push to bolster NATO’s air defences in Europe after the Russian invasion of Ukraine last year, urging allies to buy deterrence systems together.

READ ALSO: Israel says US okays ‘landmark’ missile defence deal with Germany

“We can see with the daily Russian attacks on Ukraine how important anti-air defence is,” Pistorius said.

The signing of the deal was a “moving event for every Jew”, looking back at the events of the Holocaust, Gallant said.

“Only 80 years since the end of the Second World War yet Israel and Germany join hands today in building a safer future,” he said.

Sky shield

The long-range Arrow 3 system, designed to shoot down missiles above the Earth’s atmosphere, is powerful enough to offer protective cover for neighbouring European Union states.

The system was developed and produced by Israel and the United States and the sale had to be approved by Washington before it could be finalised.

The system was first deployed at an Israeli air force base in 2017 and has been used to protect Israel against attacks from Iran and Syria.

Arrow 3 is a “mobile system” that can be deployed depending on the threats faced, according to manufacturer Israel Aerospace Industries.

The money for the deal comes from a landmark 100-billion-euro fund unveiled by Chancellor Olaf Scholz to bolster the country’s defences in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

More than a dozen European countries have so far signed up to Germany’s common air defence project, the European Sky Shield Initiative.

The Sky Shield project would involve joint procurement for short-, medium- and long-range systems, including the German-made Iris-T, the American Patriot system and Arrow 3.

Some of Germany’s neighbours have however so far declined to sign up to the pact, including France and Poland.

Officials in Paris have argued instead for an air defence system using European equipment.

Berlin has said it expects the Arrow 3 system to be delivered in the final quarter of 2025.

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MILITARY

Is Germany gearing up to reintroduce compulsory military service?

Defence Minister Boris Pistorius wants to introduce a new conscription model for the German army by reviving a piece of law that was scrapped 13 years ago. Here's how that could look.

Published: 12 June 2024 12:24 CEST
Is Germany gearing up to reintroduce compulsory military service?

According to media reports, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) wants to compel young men in Germany to provide information about their willingness and ability to serve in the military via a questionnaire, and to submit them to a medical examination if selected. 

The move would mark the first step in the reintroduction of mandatory military service in Germany after it was ended 13 years ago. 

Here’s what we know about the plans so far. 

What’s the plan for recruitment?

According to information obtained by DPA, the Pistorius plan requires an expansion of the conscription law for young men. 

Military planners estimate that 400,000 people would have to fill out the questionnaire each year, and they estimate that a quarter of them could express interest in joining the Bundeswehr, or German military.

From this pool, 40,000 candidates would then be selected who could be drafted into the military.

Currently, however, there is only capacity for training 5,000 to 7,000 recruits, which means training capabilities would have to be expanded. The term of service is expected to last six to twelve months.

Pistorius was scheduled to inform the Bundestag’s defence committee about his plans on Wednesday morning and present them in a press conference at midday.

Cabinet ministers say soldiers must be volunteers

On Tuesday, Pistorius visited a military training area with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The site in north-eastern Germany is used to train Ukrainian soldiers on the ‘Patriot’ air defence missile system.

Since the outbreak of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Germany has pushed to get its army ready for defence in case war should escalate further. But Pistorius has had a hard time securing both funding and the number of troops that would be required to do so.

READ ALSO: ‘I could die’ – German military struggles to recruit

German soldiers at training

Soldiers of the German Armed Forces train as part of military exercise Swift Response 24 – NATO’s largest military exercise since the Cold War. Photo by Daniel MIHAILESCU / AFP

The idea to reintroduce compulsory military service has previously been proposed, but has largely been rejected by the current leadership. 

SPD leader Lars Klingbeil, for example, has spoken out in favour of continuing to rely on voluntary recruitment. “I think we should try it voluntarily by making the Bundeswehr even more attractive,” he said. 

At the start of the year, Green Party chairman Omid Nouripour made a similar point: “I don’t think conscription is needed.” There has also been resistance to compulsory service from the FDP.

According to the Pistorius model, both the questionnaire and potential conscription would become mandatory for young men. 

After 55 years of compulsory service, conscription was suspended Germany in 2011 by Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg (CSU). Practically all structures for conscription were then dissolved. 

However, the Compulsory Military Service Act stipulates that compulsory military service for men can be revived if the Bundestag determines a state of tension that could lead to military conflict. But there haven’t been any concrete preparations for this since 2011.

How to get Germany ‘fit for war’

Pistorius had models of compulsory service examined after the Bundeswehr shrank to 181,500 soldiers last year. The chairman of the Bundeswehr Association, told DPA that the number of personnel in the Bundeswehr fell to its lowest level since 2018 this month.

Pistorius is convinced that the army can not be revived with volunteers alone: “I am firmly convinced that it will not work without mandatory components.” 

He repeatedly stressed that Germany must become “fit for war” in order to be able to credibly support its NATO allies in deterrence.

The debate about military service touches on issues of constitutionality. The Federal Agency for Civic Education writes that since the founding of the Bundeswehr, there have always been more men fit for military service than needed for the army, which has been perceived as unfair.

The state also has mandatory service in other areas, such as for lay judges (jurors) and for fire protection. A broader new service obligation, including rescue services and disaster control, has also been publicly discussed. 

READ ALSO: Berlin allows Ukraine to fire German weapons at targets in Russia

As the law stands, young women would be spared from a draft. The Basic Law would have to be amended for women to be conscripted.

The chairman of the Bundeswehr Association, Colonel André Wüstner, had called for a new military service plan before Pistorius’ plans were announced. 

He suggested that anyone who understands the gravity of the current Zeitenwende (historical turning point), in terms of defence policy, “will not be able to oppose a new form of military service or a new type of conscription across the board”.

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