“The Arrow 4 is very close to serial production”

“This is a significant milestone in a process that has lasted two years from the date of signing,” said Boaz Levy, CEO of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), referring to the delivery of the first operational Arrow 3 battery to Germany this week. “This is the result of extremely strenuous work by the State of Israel and IAI during a war, in which we demonstrated Israeli capabilities and delivered a complete weapons system on time. We trained our partners in Germany, and today they know how to operate it independently,” he added.

Levy spoke with Calcalist journalist Yuval Azulay at the Mind the Tech Berlin conference, hosted by Calcalist and Bank Leumi.

Are the Germans making a good deal?

“An excellent deal. They signed it about a week before October 7. At the time, they already knew they were choosing the best system in the world; today they know it with certainty because it has been proven on the battlefield in Israel. Just as it successfully intercepted ballistic missiles from both Yemen and Iran, it will be able to do the same against threats directed at Germany, and it can also protect other countries surrounding Germany.”

Is this the first deal that will lead to more?

“In this war, Israel was forced to confront the full reality of ballistic threats. Questions that existed before, why these systems are needed, and whether they justify the cost, no longer exist. Every leader in the free world who feels threatened must provide an answer for their citizens. Israel has proven the value: a single missile fired at a ballistic target and intercepted at the required altitude can prevent catastrophic damage on the ground. The citizens of Israel know they have someone to rely on, and starting this week, Germany will also know it can rely on the Arrow system.”

Can IAI supply enough missiles for both Germany and the IDF?

“The system supplied to Germany was required by the Chancellor to be identical to the Israeli system. We are delivering to Germany exactly what the IDF has. All that remains is production, and this is what we do. We have already proven that when we commit to a two-year timetable, we meet it, even during wartime.”

The war is accelerating Arrow 4 development. Where does the project stand?

“In the recent conflict, we relied on the Arrow 2 and Arrow 3. The first Arrow 2 missile was delivered in 1998; some performed very well, and others must now be replaced with the Arrow 4. Development is underway, and we are very close to the start of serial production. Together with the Arrow 3, it will provide the best response to threats in our region and beyond.”

This is the largest arms deal in the history of IAI. On a personal level, does it feel like closing a circle?

“I am closing several circles. I began my career on the Arrow project as a guidance and control engineer who wrote the missile’s autopilot. I later became the project’s chief engineer and, eventually, head of the Arrow program, the person who took Arrow 3 from concept to reality. It protected the State of Israel, and there is tremendous satisfaction in now bringing it to Germany, because this missile will protect not only Israelis but citizens of the free world.

“On a personal level, there is another, smaller circle. I am a second-generation Holocaust survivor. The world’s first ballistic missile was developed in Germany by Dr. Wernher von Braun. And now the State of Israel is delivering a ballistic-missile defense system designed by the son of a Holocaust survivor, brought to German soil to protect it from ballistic threats.”