Germany in Talks to Buy Thousands of Long-Range Missiles From Europe and Ukraine
Germany is in talks to buy thousands of high-precision long-range missiles made in Europe to replenish its arsenal amid delays in the arrival of US Tomahawk missiles, Bloomberg reported, according to European Pravda.
Who could win the contracts
Producers that could win German contracts include the Dutch company Destinus SA with its Ruta cruise missiles and the German-British defense startup Hypersonica, which is developing the HS1 hypersonic missile. Talks are also under way on a contract worth more than €1 billion with the US defense startup Covenant for thousands of its ground-launched Anthem cruise missiles.
In addition, according to the outlet's sources, the German Ministry of Defense is negotiating with Ukraine on the joint production and purchase of Ukrainian "Bars" cruise missiles. Their manufacturer has not been disclosed yet.
Why thousands of cheap missiles
The idea of buying thousands of new, inexpensive missiles is to oversaturate an adversary's air defenses and so guarantee that strikes reach their targets. At present the German armed forces use only the air-launched Taurus cruise missile, whose range is relatively short, about 500 kilometers.
Germany's plan to buy the powerful BGM-109 Tomahawk and the Typhon ground launch system from the US maker Raytheon could be delayed by up to five years.
Background
The German government expects that building a new arsenal of long-range weapons intended to deter Russia will cost almost €12 billion. Previously, Denmark announced for the first time in its history a billion-scale deal to buy high-precision long-range missiles amid plans to strengthen its security.
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