Germany to Buy US Tomahawk Missiles, Station Them at Home

Germany is set to acquire Tomahawk cruise missiles from the United States, a move aimed at bolstering its defense capabilities and deterring Russian aggression. Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced the agreement, reached during the NATO summit in Ankara, stating it would "close an important strategic gap in our defense." The missiles, with a range of up to 2,500 kilometers, are intended to counter threats posed by Russia's deployment of nuclear-capable Iskander missiles and advanced aircraft near NATO's eastern flank.

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We have also agreed on the sidelines of the NATO meeting in Ankara with the American government that American Tomahawk missiles will be acquired by us and stationed in Germany.

The German government's decision comes as a response to Russia's military posture, including the stationing of nuclear-capable Iskander missiles in Kaliningrad and the deployment of Kinzhal hypersonic missiles on combat jets. The Defense Ministry has previously stated that these Russian deployments pose a significant threat to Western Europe, necessitating a NATO response. The acquisition of Tomahawks offers an alternative to previous plans that faced uncertainty under the Trump administration.

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We are thus closing an important strategic gap in our defense. And we will simultaneously work to develop our own European systems and station them in Europe.

Beyond the immediate acquisition, Germany is committed to developing its own European long-range strike systems. This initiative, known as Elsa (European Long-Range Strike Approach), was launched at the 2024 NATO summit in Washington. The project aims to equip European NATO allies with their own long-range precision strike capabilities, fostering greater European defense autonomy. The German Defense Ministry confirmed last year that work on this new capability had begun, signaling a long-term strategy to enhance European defense independence.

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Russia has stationed nuclear-capable Iskander missiles in the exclave of Kaliningrad. In addition, Moscow has been deploying Russian combat jets with air-to-ground hypersonic missiles of the Kinschal type there since 2022. Russia has also announced that it will station nuclear weapons in Belarus.