ISRAELVALLEY. Le Chancelier Allemand a annoncé l'arrêt des ventes
d'armes à Israël. L'impact est immédiat sur l'armement
terrestre israélien.
L'entreprise allemande MTU, filiale du britannique Rolls-Royce,
fabrique les moteurs du char Merkava, du véhicule blindé
de transport de troupes Namer et du nouveau véhicule
de combat blindé Eitan.
Il s'agit de composants essentiels aux capacités
opérationnelles des forces blindées et d'infanterie
de Tsahal. MTU exploite également des usines au Royaume-Uni
et aux États-Unis, mais ces installations sont réservées
à l'assemblage final et aux essais des moteurs, ce qui
fait de l'Allemagne un maillon essentiel de la
chaîne d'approvisionnement.
For decades, Germany has been second only to the U.S. in defense exports to Israel. If Israel faces another emergency requiring weapons, it could be left empty-handed. But the chancellor’s wording on banning arms for use in Gaza may leave Berlin some room to maneuver
Germany’s decision on Friday to restrict arms exports to Israel could significantly impact several of the Israeli military’s most important weapons systems, forcing Israel and its suppliers to devise workarounds for production in Germany.
The move could also stop Israeli arms manufacturers operating in Germany, including Israeli state-owned companies, from selling weapons to Israel.
Over the past decades, Germany has been second only to the United States in the scale of its defense exports to Israel, largely due to major deals with ThyssenKrupp for submarines and missile ships to protect Israel’s offshore gas rigs.
According to an official response by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy to a Bundestag query, from the start of the war until May 13, 2025, Berlin approved arms exports to Israel worth a total of 481 million euros ($560.5 million).
The German government declined to provide specific details on the types of weapons and equipment supplied, instead listing broad categories such as small arms, bombs, missiles, ammunition and a wide range of systems.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s statement that Germany will not approve exports of military equipment that could be used in fighting in the Gaza Strip leaves Berlin with some room to maneuver. For example, the decision likely will not affect submarine- or ship-related exports, although in various parliamentary queries, German lawmakers have pointed to reports that the surface vessels took part in the Gaza campaign.
However, Israel also depends on Germany in other areas where it would be difficult to argue that the systems are unrelated to the fighting in Gaza. For instance, the German company MTU, a subsidiary of Britain’s Rolls-Royce, manufactures the engines for the Merkava tank, the Namer Armored Personnel Carrier and the new Eitan Armored Fighting Vehicle.
These are critical components for the operational capabilities of the IDF’s armored and infantry forces. MTU also operates plants in the U.K. and the U.S., but these facilities are used only for final assembly and testing of engines, meaning Germany remains a key link in the supply chain.
The global nature of the supply chain may already provide Israel with a built-in workaround to the German sanctions. This is because Israel purchases the engines for the Namer and Eitan from an American company, Rolls-Royce Solutions America Inc., an American-registered subsidiary of the Rolls-Royce Group, meaning the transaction goes through the U.S.
The decision will not affect existing Israeli export contracts to Germany. Just last month, Elbit announced a deal to supply infrared-guided missile self-defense systems for installation on the German Air Force’s A400M transport aircraft. Still, if the Israeli government maintains its current course in Gaza, even Germany may opt for alternative suppliers in future procurements. Moreover, any decision by Germany could trigger a domino effect among other European states.
International cooperation between Israeli defense companies abroad and Germany proved vital in the first months of the war. Germany is a key ally for Israel in the development, production and marketing of advanced weapons, some of which are destined for Israel itself.
Israel Aerospace Industries, Rafael and Elbit all own subsidiaries in Germany and work with local firms in various fields. This means that if Israel were again to face an emergency and require an urgent shipment from Germany, as has happened in the past, it might find itself empty-handed.
One of the most significant German arms shipments to Israel since the start of the war in Gaza was the delivery of 3,000 anti-tank launchers in 2023. These were likely « Matador » launchers (the RGW-90 or the lighter RGW-60), known in the IDF as « Mapatz » – designed to destroy armored vehicles, bunkers and militants sheltering inside buildings.
The launchers are produced by the German company Dynamit Nobel Defence, or DND, which was acquired 20 years ago by Rafael, the state-owned Israeli defense company. The Matador has been widely used by the IDF in years of combat in Gaza and Lebanon.
Rafael also developed the « Spike » family of guided missile systems. To market them in Europe, the company established Eurospike – a joint venture with two major German firms: Rheinmetall (40 percent stake) and Diehl Defence (also 40 percent). The remaining 20 percent is held by Ercas B.V., a Rafael holding company registered in the Netherlands and operating from the U.K.
According to German corporate registry documents, Eurospike handles marketing and distribution of Spike systems, particularly for European clients, and also provides services such as project management and basic systems engineering. Spike missiles are partly manufactured in Israel and partly on production lines of the German partner companies ».
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