Publication

As of 2013 Germany is undertaking significant upgrades of its air and missile defense systems. This brief examines the need for such platforms, arguing that rather than territorial protection, Germany sees them as being useful for conducting out-of-area operations and multilateral defense arrangements. Policymakers face technical choices over the type of systems Berlin wishes to pursue, and strategic choices concerning how these fit within its broader defense policy. In particular, the author discusses the opportunity for closer collaboration with major European allies and the possibility of integrating German platforms within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's missile defense program.