The US State Department approved the potential sale to NATO ally Germany by 600 anti-aircraft missilesthe cost of which amounts to 5 billion dollars, the Pentagon announced today.
“The proposed sale will improve Germany’s ability to respond to current and future threats and increase the defense capabilities of its armed forces,” says a statement from the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA).
Under NATO’s new defense plan, Germany will have to quadruple its air defenses to protect infrastructure and military forces in the event of serious tensions or a war, a security source told Reuters last month.
Germany had 36 Patriot air defense units, which launch missiles, when it was a NATO front-line country during the Cold War. Today German forces have only nine Patriot units, after giving three to Ukraine after the Russian invasion in 2022.
A potential sale, which would include related equipment and technical assistance, would be made by Lockheed Martin, said the Pentagon, which briefed Congress on the potential sale today.
RES-EMP
#State #Department #Approves #Potential #Billion #Patriot #Sale #Germany
