Germany’s Scholz wants air defence shield in next five years – Funke
BERLIN (Reuters) -German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hopes to develop a missile defence shield in the next five years, he said in an interview with the Funke Media Group and French newspaper Ouest-France published on Thursday.
“Right now, the government is talking to the manufacturers of the various systems to get ready for concrete decisions,” he said.
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Scholz also reiterated his goal of boosting German defence spending to meet the 2%-of-GDP target set for NATO allies, including with the expansion of air defence for a so-called Sky Shield with other NATO states.
Germany and more than a dozen NATO partners are aiming to jointly procure air defence systems that protect allied territory from missiles.
Among the options being considered are Israel’s Arrow 3 system, the U.S. Patriot and German IRIS-T units.
In November, a stray missile landed in Poland near the border with Ukraine, casting light on NATO’s air defence vulnerabilities and prompting Germany to supply Patriot systems to Poland.
(Writing by Rachel More, Editing by Miranda Murray)