Germany strikes deal to buy US long-range Tomahawk missiles
Germany has struck a deal with the United States to buy American-made Tomahawk cruise missiles and station them in Germany, Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced on Thursday.
The German leader said the agreement on the long-range missiles, which are used to strike targets deep inside enemy territory, was reached this week on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Turkiye’s capital, Ankara. “This will close an important strategic gap in our defence, and at the same time, we will work to develop our own European systems and station them in Europe,” Merz told parliament after returning from the two-day summit.
The deal struck with the Trump administration amounts to broader export of American know-how to some of its major allies in Europe, whose security posture has been upended by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump said the US will give Ukraine a license to make Patriot air defence systems to counter missile attacks from Russia - a huge coup for Kyiv, which has long requested the technology.
The Tomahawk cruise missile has been in the US military’s inventory since the 1980s. While slow by missile standards, the cruise missile flies around 100 feet off the ground, making it harder to detect by defence systems.
The missile boasts an impressive range of around 1,600 kilometres and precision guidance systems that make it the go-to weapon for striking targets that are deep inland or in hostile territory.
