Germany Buys US Tomahawk Missiles in Major NATO Defense Upgrade

Germany has struck a deal with the United States to purchase American-made Tomahawk cruise missiles and station them on German soil, Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced on Thursday, calling it a historic step in European defense.

The agreement was reached on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey. Merz made the announcement in an address to the German parliament after returning from the two-day gathering.

What the Deal Means

"This will close an important strategic gap in our defense, and at the same time, we will work to develop our own European systems and station them in Europe," Merz told lawmakers.

The Tomahawk cruise missile is one of the most proven long-range precision weapons in the US military's arsenal. In service since the 1980s, it flies at low altitude — around 30 meters above the ground — making it difficult for enemy air defenses to detect. With a range of approximately 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles), it is designed to strike targets deep inside hostile territory.

Broader European Context

The German deal represents part of a wider export of American military know-how to European allies, whose collective security posture has been fundamentally reshaped since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The announcement came just a day after US President Donald Trump said Washington would grant Ukraine a license to produce Patriot air defense systems domestically — a landmark step for Kyiv that it had long sought.

The NATO summit in Ankara also resulted in a collective €37 billion commitment from multiple allies for a new joint missile development program, according to reports from the summit.

Germany's Defense Transformation

Berlin has dramatically increased defense spending since 2022, reversing decades of post-Cold War reductions. The Tomahawk purchase underscores Germany's deepening commitment to European security and its willingness to invest in credible long-range deterrence.

Critics have raised questions about the stationing of US missiles in Germany, recalling historical debates during the Cold War over intermediate-range weapons. Government officials, however, say the arrangement is essential to modern deterrence given Russia's ongoing aggression in Ukraine.