Israel said the United States on Thursday (Aug 17) approved the “landmark” sale of the Arrow 3 hypersonic missile defence system to Germany, in the country’s biggest military deal worth US$3.5 billion.

The Arrow 3 system – an interceptor designed to shoot down ballistic missiles above the Earth’s atmosphere – is jointly developed and produced by the Israel and the United States.

Israel’s defence ministry said in a statement the US State Department had notified it of the US government’s approval for Germany to procure the Arrow 3 system.

“The Israeli Ministry of Defence, German Federal Ministry of Defence, and Israel Aerospace Industries will sign the landmark US$3.5 billion defence agreement, marking Israel’s largest ever defence deal,” it said.