Germany nears decision to beef up short-range air defences
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BERLIN- Germany is nearing a decision to replace its aging short-range air defence systems and help fill a gap that has caused concern among NATO members after Russia's annexation of Crimea, two sources familiar with the issue said.
A decision to move ahead would pave the way for a procurement programme valued at 460 million euros through the middle of the next decade, with 2 billion euros in further spending likely in a later phase, said one of the sources. New lasers and radars could be added later at additional cost.
A spokesman said the Defence Ministry had taken an initial look at the issue but had not yet made a decision about how to proceed.
One of the sources said officials had a favourable view of a system developed for Sweden by Diehl Defense, a privately held German weapons maker, which includes a variant of its IRIS-T missile and a dual-cab tracked vehicle built by Hagglunds Vehicle AB, a unit of BAE Systems.
