Latest news with #IngoGerhartz
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
German Air Force receives first parts for Arrow 3 system from Israel
The chief of Germany's Air Force has travelled to Israel to procure the first part of the Arrow 3 air-defence system, as Germany seeks to boost its air defences in light of Europe's altered security landscape. Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz visited Arrow 3 manufacturer Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) in Tel Aviv to receive the central communication element of the weapons system, a spokesman for the air force said. Germany's Air Force is aiming for the modern hypersonic, anti-ballistic missile system to achieve initial operational readiness by the end of this year, as the country is looking to close a defence gap. Arrow 3 is able to shoot down missiles at an altitude of more than 100 kilometres - meaning it can destroy projectiles outside of the atmosphere, a capability Germany's current defence umbrella doesn't have. "With Arrow 3, Germany is procuring an Israeli weapons system on my initiative that will help to protect Germany against threats from the air," Gerhartz told dpa. The first of three locations for the firing units is set to be Holzdorf military airbase in eastern Germany, some 75 kilometres south of the German capital, where construction work is under way. Germany is seeking to invest heavily in its air defence in light of Russia having significantly ramped up its defence industry amid its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, sparking fears that Moscow might launch an attack on European NATO territory in the coming years. To this end, Germany has also launched an initiative for a common European air defence system - the European Sky Shield Initiative.
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Germany's Luftwaffe opens new headquarters to command air operations
The German air force is strengthening its ability to plan and command defence operations from a new headquarters in north-western Germany. A new Air Component Command (ACC) went into service on Friday in Kalkar, near Germany's border with the Netherlands. Lieutentant General Ingo Gerhartz called the redeveloped command post a "decisive point" for Germany's "national and alliance defence." The headquarters will facilitate multinational operations between NATO allies and the Luftwaffe, Germany's air force. "Air Defender, the largest air force deployment exercise, showed that it took some time before we were able to command our partners' aircraft. We are now changing that with the ACC," Gerhartz told dpa on Friday. The German military said the headquarters is "capable of operationally implementing political decisions on the employment of air forces within the scope of national and collective defence at any time without lead time, thus ensuring immediate response capability at any time in the event of a crisis."
