Following Turkey’s participation in the German-led European Skyshield Initiative (ESSI) alongside Greece in February last year, some experts have assessed that the project could offer opportunities for Turkey’s domestically produced and owned defense industry products in the long term.
ESSI is a defense project involving 21 European countries that was launched in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and aims to develop an integrated, land-based, multi-layered air defense missile system using European, U.S. and Israeli-made platforms. Industry experts believe Turkey’s Hisar and Siper defense systems could have significant synergies with the effort, but warn that this can only be realized in the long term.
Still in the planning stages, ESSI’s current vision is to integrate the long-range, high-altitude Arrow 3 systems manufactured by the United States and Israel, the US-made Patriot MIM-104 surface-to-air and missile defense batteries, and the IRIS-T class of air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles manufactured by a German-led consortium, with the goal of providing a comprehensive air defense system for continental Europe.
Germany announced in September 2023 that it would buy the Arrow 3 for 4 billion euros ($4.3 billion). The German parliament announced an advance payment of about 560 million euros ($600 million) in June, according to Reuters. Delivery of the systems is scheduled for 2025. The Arrow 3 can intercept projectiles coming from long distances and high altitudes, including above the atmosphere, as demonstrated in an Iranian air strike on Israel in April. The attack was only effectively thwarted after a $1 billion coordinated effort by France, the United States and regional allies.
