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Germany Deploys Israeli-Made Arrow Air Defense to Counter Russian Missile Threat
The German Air Force presents the initial capability of the “Arrow Weapon System for Germany” in Schoenewalde, Germany, Dec. 3, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Axel Schmidt
Germany on Wednesday became the first European nation to deploy the Arrow air defense system, built to intercept intermediate-range ballistic missiles such as Russia’s Oreshnik, as it seeks to counter what it sees as a growing threat from Moscow.
The system, developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) in cooperation with the US Missile Defense Agency, is used as the upper layer of Israel’s missile defenses, together with the Iron Dome, which takes out short-range threats.
“Who could have imagined that only 80 years after the liberation of Auschwitz, the Jewish state, through the technologies it develops, would help defend not only Germany but all of Europe,” Israel’s ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor said.
A number of countries have expressed interest in purchasing the technology since Arrow helped to thwart Iran’s missile attacks on Israel in April and October 2024, according to IAI.
Operating at altitudes above 100 kilometers (62 miles), outside the earth’s atmosphere, and with a range of 2,400 kilometers, the stationary system complements shorter-range air defenses such as Patriot and IRIS-T which are mounted on trucks.
Germany‘s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius emphasized the system’s value for early warning and protection of the population and infrastructure.
“With this strategic capability, which is unique among our European partners, we are securing our key role in the heart of Europe,” he said in a statement. “Thus, we are not only protecting ourselves, but also our partners. We are thereby strengthening the European pillar of NATO and meeting a NATO target.”
A ceremony marking the deployment took place at an air base in Holzdorf, some 100 kilometers south of Berlin. Germany aims to have the system, which is designed to cover the entire country and will be deployed at three locations in the north, south, and center, fully operational by 2030.
Germany purchased the Arrow system in 2023 for a total cost of 3.6 billion euros ($4.18 billion) as it sees Russia’s intermediate-range missiles as the primary threat to its population and critical infrastructure.
Arrow can spot and intercept incoming missiles with a range beyond 1,000 kilometers, launched from land, air, or sea, thus plugging a critical gap in the country’s territorial defense.
Russia’s shorter-range Iskander missiles deployed to the enclave of Kaliningrad, some 500 kilometers from Berlin, are seen as a threat mainly to be tackled by Patriot air defense units.
NATO’s eastern expansion has shifted front-line defense to countries such as Poland and the Baltics. However, Germany remains a key staging area in the event of a conflict.
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Tucker’s Ideas About Jews Come from Darkest Corners of the Internet, Says Huckabee After Combative Interview
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee looks on during the day he visits the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem’s Old City, April 18, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – In a combative interview with US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, right-wing firebrand Tucker Carlson made a host of contentious and often demonstrably false claims that quickly went viral online. Huckabee, who repeatedly challenged the former Fox News star during the interview, subsequently made a long post on X, identifying a pattern of bad-faith arguments, distortions and conspiracies in Carlson’s rhetorical style.
Huckabee pointed out his words were not accorded by Carlson the same degree of attention and curiosity the anchor evinced toward such unsavory characters as “the little Nazi sympathizer Nick Fuentes or the guy who thought Hitler was the good guy and Churchill the bad guy.”
“What I wasn’t anticipating was a lengthy series of questions where he seemed to be insinuating that the Jews of today aren’t really same people as the Jews of the Bible,” Huckabee wrote, adding that Tucker’s obsession with conspiracies regarding the provenance of Ashkenazi Jews obscured the fact that most Israeli Jews were refugees from the Arab and Muslim world.
The idea that Ashkenazi Jews are an Asiatic tribe who invented a false ancestry “gained traction in the 80’s and 90’s with David Duke and other Klansmen and neo-Nazis,” Huckabee wrote. “It has really caught fire in recent years on the Internet and social media, mostly from some of the most overt antisemites and Jew haters you can find.”
Carlson branded Israel “probably the most violent country on earth” and cited the false claim that Israel President Isaac Herzog had visited the infamous island of the late, disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“The current president of Israel, whom I know you know, apparently was at ‘pedo island.’ That’s what it says,” Carlson said, citing a debunked claim made by The Times reporter Gabrielle Weiniger. “Still-living, high-level Israeli officials are directly implicated in Epstein’s life, if not his crimes, so I think you’d be following this.”
Another misleading claim made by Carlson was that there were more Christians in Qatar than in Israel.
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Pezeshkian Says Iran Will Not Bow to Pressure Amid US Nuclear Talks
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attends the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit 2025, in Tianjin, China, September 1, 2025. Iran’s Presidential website/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Saturday that his country would not bow its head to pressure from world powers amid nuclear talks with the United States.
“World powers are lining up to force us to bow our heads… but we will not bow our heads despite all the problems that they are creating for us,” Pezeshkian said in a speech carried live by state TV.
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Italy’s RAI Apologizes after Latest Gaffe Targets Israeli Bobsleigh Team
Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics – Bobsleigh – 4-man Heat 1 – Cortina Sliding Centre, Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy – February 21, 2026. Adam Edelman of Israel, Menachem Chen of Israel, Uri Zisman of Israel, Omer Katz of Israel in action during Heat 1. Photo: REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
Italy’s state broadcaster RAI was forced to apologize to the Jewish community on Saturday after an off‑air remark advising its producers to “avoid” the Israeli crew was broadcast before coverage of the Four-Man bobsleigh event at the Winter Olympics.
The head of RAI’s sports division had already resigned earlier in the week after his error-ridden commentary at the Milano Cortina 2026 opening ceremony two weeks ago triggered a revolt among its journalists.
On Saturday, viewers heard “Let’s avoid crew number 21, which is the Israeli one” and then “no, because …” before the sound was cut off.
RAI CEO Giampaolo Rossi said the incident represented a “serious” breach of the principles of impartiality, respect and inclusion that should guide the public broadcaster.
He added that RAI had opened an internal inquiry to swiftly determine any responsibility and any potential disciplinary procedures.
In a separate statement RAI’s board of directors condemned the remark as “unacceptable.”
The board apologized to the Jewish community, the athletes involved and all viewers who felt offended.
RAI is the country’s largest media organization and operates national television, radio and digital news services.
The union representing RAI journalists, Usigrai, had said Paolo Petrecca’s opening ceremony commentary had dealt “a serious blow” to the company’s credibility.
His missteps included misidentifying venues and public figures, and making comments about national teams that were widely criticized.