Germany to buy US Tomahawk missiles to boost long-range strike capability

BERLIN: Germany will purchase Tomahawk cruise missiles from the United States and deploy them on its own territory to strengthen its long-range strike capability, Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced on Thursday.

The decision marks a departure from an earlier plan under which the United States was expected to station long-range missiles in Germany, with Berlin instead opting to establish its own capability.

Addressing parliament, Merz said he finalised the agreement with the US administration on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, describing the discussions as having exceeded his expectations.

“We are closing a critical strategic gap in our defence, while simultaneously working to develop our own European systems and station them in Europe,” he said.

According to German government sources, Washington signed a letter of intent on Tuesday committing to approve Germany’s purchase of Tomahawk cruise missiles and Typhon ground-based launchers in August.

Officials did not disclose the number of missiles or launchers to be acquired, citing security considerations.

The move is in line with US President Donald Trump’s longstanding call for European allies to assume greater responsibility for their own defence by increasing military spending and purchasing American-made defence equipment.

The future of the Tomahawk deployment had become uncertain after Trump announced in May that the United States would reduce its military presence in Germany.

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That decision effectively ended an earlier plan by the previous US administration to deploy a battalion equipped with long-range Tomahawk missiles in Germany as an interim deterrent against Russia while European countries developed comparable capabilities.

Germany currently operates the domestically produced Taurus cruise missile, which has a range of approximately 500 kilometres, considerably shorter than the operational range of the US-made Tomahawk missile.