Arrow 3 is a joint project between the Israel Defense Forces' Missile Defense Agency and the US Missile Defense Agency. (Source: Israel Defense Forces)

The German Finance Ministry has sent a request to the Bundestag to approve an advance payment of up to $600 million next week to secure a deal between Berlin and the Israeli government by the end of the year.

Germany has been seeking to buy Israel’s Arrow 3 medium-range missile defense system for more than a year. At a meeting in April, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his German counterpart Olaf Scholz agreed to conduct intensive negotiations to move the deal forward and are awaiting a deposit to sign the formal contract.

Arrow 3 is currently Israel's most advanced long-range missile defense system, allowing it to intercept ballistic missiles outside the Earth's atmosphere or actively intercept nuclear, biological, chemical, or conventional warheads near their launch sites.

The Israeli Defense Ministry said the system was co-developed with the United States, so export to Germany depends on Washington's approval.

Germany has significantly increased its air defense capabilities since Russia launched its military campaign in Ukraine.

“We have to protect ourselves better against threats,” Andreas Schwarz, a member of parliament from the ruling Social Democratic Party, told Bild newspaper last year. “For this, we need to quickly build a missile defense shield for the entire country.

Israel's Arrow 3 system is a good solution.”