Air Defense and Long-Range Weapons: Ukraine and Germany Agree on New Aid Packages

Ukraine and Germany have agreed on new military aid packages covering air defense systems, long-range weapons, drones, and ammunition.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced this during a joint briefing with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

He also added that Kyiv and Berlin have signed agreements on defense and economic cooperation.

“Today we agreed on new support packages, primarily concerning air defense, long-range weapons, and ammunition,” Merz stated.

He emphasized that the cooperation is beneficial not only for Ukraine but also for Germany and its security, because there is no other army in Europe that “has had such military experience over the past decades.”

According to Zelensky, this involves PAC-2 anti-aircraft missiles for the American Patriot air defense systems, as well as the German IRIS-T air defense systems.

“The agreements on air defense—we’re talking about missiles, and certainly the PAC-2. Regarding the IRIS-T systems, we’d like to express our separate gratitude for this agreement. It’s important that we continue working… We must ensure that we have the capabilities so that Europeans can produce here everything that is critically necessary for the defense of Europe,” the President of Ukraine added.

Cooperation with Germany

Last week, it was reported that the Ukrainian National Guard will receive over 1,000 METIS interceptor drones from the Munich-based startup TYTAN Technologies, funded by the German government.

They will be equipped with artificial intelligence, have a range of over 45 km, and be capable of effectively engaging targets at altitudes of up to 6 km. Their flight speed will reach up to 400 km/h.

Ukraine and Germany will also discuss cooperation on developing laser weapons for air defense.

German defense giant HENSOLDT, known for manufacturing air surveillance radar stations, has opened its own innovation center in Ukraine.

The company’s key product, which is actively used by the Ukrainian military, is the TRML-4D radar as part of the IRIS-T SLM air defense missile systems.