BERLIN, GERMANY - Berlin’s historic deployment of Israel’s Arrow 2 and 3 defense systems this week will pave the way for additional European countries to purchase the system, German Air Defense Commander Col. Dennis Kruger told The Jerusalem Post in an exclusive interview.
Speaking in Germany shortly after the ceremonial deployment, Kruger said, “I think this is a really big step with the weapons system for the safety of Germany.
“And it is not only to protect from long-range ballistic missiles but also has early warning capabilities for the security and political situation we have in Europe, and with medium-range ballistic missiles having come to the field. Germany is now a lot safer with this system.”
Questioned if the new defense system was primarily to defend against potential attacks from Russia after Europe has seen what Moscow has done to Ukraine since 2022, he said, “That is our current and greatest challenge at the moment, but also not solely just for Russia. We have a 360-degree defense ring with the Arrow system.”
Various European officials have expressed future security concerns regarding North Korea, China, Iran, and even unpredictable new countries developing ballistic missile threats following the recent spike in their use both by Russia and by Middle Eastern countries against Israel.
Asked if additional European countries will also purchase the Arrow from Israel, Kruger responded, “I believe so. Germany has closed the capability gap. But [there are threats] all over Europe. Germany is moving in first and setting a good example. We believe other nations will follow.”
Next, the German air defense chief stated, “I think the interest in the Arrow system is growing in Europe, but also in the last 30 years we added ground-based air defenses all over Europe…after the Cold War ended.”
“One challenge all nations are facing is to build up strong air defenses,” he continued, adding that Germany and other European countries were “working together on the European Sky Shield Initiative, with lots of procurements and activities.”
In three rounds of attacking Israel with mass ballistic missile volleys – in April 2024, October 2025, and June of this year – Iran fired a total of around 850 missiles, leading to concerns in Israel and elsewhere that even the Arrow could be insufficient without a certain volume of Arrow interceptors.
In a prior interview with the Nachgefragt media outlet in mid-2024, Kruger showered Israel’s air defense during the April 2024 Iranian attack with compliments.
Could Germany be overwhelmed by a certain volume of Russian missiles?
Even as the Arrow had a close to 90% shoot-down rate of Iran’s missiles, Tehran managed to pierce the Israeli missile shield 36 times during the June war, killing 28 Israelis and destroying over 13,000 residences.
What about Germany being overwhelmed by a certain volume of Russian missiles?
Kruger would not discuss specific volume threat scenarios but responded, “It’s the other way around. We always work with probabilities in air defense.
“Look at it this way – if you didn’t have the Arrow system, what would the alternative be? You could have a lot more damage and lost lives.”
He agreed that there is no hermetic defense against aerial threats, saying, “There is no 100% protection by any system. This system gets a very high probability of protection for our population and infrastructure.”
In the same prior Nachgefragt interview, he also pointed out that the threats Israel confronts in the heart of the Middle East are sometimes different than those confronting Germany and Europe; the main point is to be prepared for likely threats, not every possible worst-case scenario.
During a wave of condemnations against Israel for the alleged “starvation” of Gazans in the months leading up to the eventual October ceasefire, Germany joined a partial arms embargo on Israel, which many European nations were imposing.
Berlin was among the first cities to lift the embargo soon after the ceasefire was set.
Asked to address the contrary trends in Israeli-German relations between the Arrow sale and the temporary short-lived partial embargo, Kruger stated, “I cannot talk about the political side.
“What I can say from this project is that we stand pretty strong together – Israel and Germany on this project – all of us who are working on it. It’s one of our top priorities. We never felt such a companionship in a [joint military] program like we have between Israel and Germany with the Arrow program.”
German Air Defense officer Lt.-Col. Thomas Finkeldey was also part of the interview and noted that the German Air Force Chief Ingo Gerhartz “flew to donate blood in October 2023 [to help wounded Israelis from Hamas’s invasion.]
“I cannot talk about the political dimension, but we, as airmen and airwomen, stand strong and close to our Israeli friends.”
German officers being trained by Israelis in Israel to operate Arrow
The Post recently learned that around 40 German officers are being trained by Israelis in Israel to operate the Arrow.
Asked about these developments, Kruger said, “Part of the training is done in Israel. There are courses running currently where [Israelis are] training our personnel for deploying the system. This is an ongoing process. We will rely on Israeli expertise while building up our own.”
In recent weeks, German military officials joined foreign officials from dozens of countries visiting Israel to receive briefings from senior IDF officials about lessons learned from the 2023-2025 Israel-Hamas War.
Questioned about how he and the German military now viewed the war and Israel’s experiences, Finkeldey responded, “I cannot go into the details, but generally what we heard and what we learned from the Israeli lessons is going to help us very much in developing a policy and with the deployment of our system.”
He added, “Israel has the experience of using the Arrow for over 20 years, which Germany does not have. The Israeli air force and other Israeli partners do their best to give us all of the information, to train our airmen and airwomen so that we can use this great capability.”
Kruger was also asked about what he had learned specifically about Israel being under fire from ballistic missiles on a multi-front basis, including Iran, Hezbollah, and the Yemenite Houthis.
He responded, “This was the first time they employed the strategic system for operational use… By doing that, they learned a lot of details, which we are benefiting from as well.”
Further, he was asked about whether Germany will later purchase the Arrow 4 and 5 systems, which are currently under development, though they may still take many years to be ready for deployment.
The German air defense chief quickly shot back, “I can give you a clear yes to that.”
Concluding, Kruger said, “From my personal perspective, when I joined the program, from the beginning, my experience with our Israeli partners – if you take the IDF, Israeli industry, and representatives of the Israel Missile Defense Organization – they have my deepest respect for the dedication that all of the Israelis put into the program.
“Despite a very difficult security situation they have had in the last two years, we met every milestone, every goal we set for ourselves.
“I have no doubt this will continue. This is only possible through enormous extra work and dedication from our Israeli partners.”
Kruger joined the German Armed Forces in 1993, spent many years in air defense, and entered general staff studies in 2007. He subsequently filled a variety of senior command roles, eventually rising to his current critical role overseeing not only the Arrow system but also other layers of Germany’s air defense against drones and additional aerial threats.”
Germany also has special teams to try to quickly integrate the F-35 fighter jet and CH-47 helicopter into its military.