According to Reuters, on July 9 local time, German Chancellor Merz announced that Germany would purchase ‘Tomahawk’ cruise missiles from the United States and deploy them within its own territory. This move marks a shift from the original plan of having American troops stationed in Germany to a development direction focused on building Germany's own long-range strike capabilities.
Mertz told parliament in Berlin that he reached this agreement with the United States during the NATO summit in Ankara.
He said that this move will fill an important strategic gap in Germany's defense capabilities. At the same time, Germany will also focus on developing its own weapon systems in Europe and plans to deploy these systems within Europe.
According to reports, the number of missiles and launch devices that Germany plans to purchase is classified information and has not been made public yet.
The German-made “Taurus” cruise missile has a range of about 500 kilometers, which is one-third to one-fifth of the range of the “Tomahawk” cruise missile.
