Germany to buy US Tomahawk missiles to plug long-range defence gap

Germany has agreed to buy US-made Tomahawk cruise missiles after the NATO summit. The move strengthens Berlin's long-range strike options while it develops European systems.

In Short

• Formal US approval for Germany’s purchase is expected in August
• The letter of intent excludes American personnel operating the launch systems
• Tomahawks can strike targets roughly 1,600 kilometres away with precision guidance

Germany has reached an agreement to buy US-made Tomahawk cruise missiles and station them in the country, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Thursday. He announced the deal after returning from the two-day NATO summit in Ankara, where he said the agreement on the long-range missiles was reached earlier this week on the sidelines of the meeting.

Addressing the German parliament, Merz said the missiles would help fill a major gap in the country’s defence capability. "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," he said.

The agreement with the Trump administration points to a wider export of US know-how to major European allies, whose security posture has been reshaped by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. On Wednesday, President Donald Trump said the US would give Ukraine a licence to make Patriot air defence systems to counter missile attacks from Russia, a step Kyiv had long sought.

The Tomahawk cruise missile has been part of the US military’s inventory since the 1980s. Although slow by missile standards, it flies at around 100 feet, or about 30 metres, above the ground, making it harder for defence systems to detect. It has a range of around 1,600 km and uses precision guidance, allowing it to strike targets deep inland or inside hostile territory.

Under the deal, the US is expected to give Germany approval in August to procure an undisclosed number of Tomahawks and matching ground-based Typhoon launchers. The letter of intent signed on Tuesday does not include the deployment of US personnel to operate the systems. Successive German governments had been seeking such an agreement since 2023.

In summary, Germany has moved to acquire Tomahawk missiles from the US as part of an effort to strengthen its long-range strike capability, while also pursuing the development of European systems for deployment in Europe.

With PTI Inputs

- Ends