Three Mystery Drones Flew Over Germany's $3.5B Arrow 3 System — Troops Couldn't Shoot Them Down | Defense Express
20h 39m ago by sh.itjust.works/u/HellsBelle in world from en.defence-ua.com
Germany back in 2023 signed a contract with Israeli company Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) for supplying Arrow 3 missile defense systems worth $3.5 billion. Already on December 1, 2026, at an airbase near Annaburg city in Saxony-Anhalt, the system was deployed and reached initial combat readiness.
However, it turned out that two days before official deployment, three unknown drones flew over this system. Moreover, Defense Romania noted that they flew at approximately 100 meters altitude directly over the radar station from Arrow 3 composition.
G27P assault rifles were used for this, equipped with Israeli Smash X4 smart sights, which have recently been actively promoted as a anti-drone solution. However, they failed to shoot down the unmanned aircraft, which then disappeared from the scene.
Later, German counterintelligence and military police classified this incident as an act of deliberate espionage. Defense Express adds that despite all importance of this system which, besides costing over $3.5 billion, is nearly Europe's only defense against russian Oreshnik and intercontinental ballistic missiles Germany couldn't protect it from three drones flying directly over it.
December 1, 2026? This is from the future?
they flew at approximately 100 meters altitude directly over the radar station
Ehh, this is like saying "this million-dollar tank was unable to fire at a mosquito only one meter away from the driver". There's such a thing as a minimum engagement distance.
A quick reaction unit quickly moved to the scene, deployed its own drone, and managed to establish visual contact with the intruder drone. After this, military tried to intercept it.
G27P assault rifles were used for this, equipped with Israeli Smash X4 smart sights, which have recently been actively promoted as a anti-drone solution. However, they failed to shoot down the unmanned aircraft, which then disappeared from the scene.
Somehow, reading this I get flashbacks to Shadowrun TTRPG sessions I did in the 90s...
Yeah, this was with HK 417 rifles, so that's well within effective range.
But a drone is a very small moving target. I doubt the fancy sights are really that effective.
The Arrow system isn't designed to or capable of intercepting a small drone at 100m altitude. This article is born out of ignorance of the systems intended use.
The article specifically mentions use of antidrone rifles (rifles with "smart sights"). Arrow was the object on interest, "Smash" sights were the component that miserably failed.
The lesson: air defense needs to be multilayer.
If one has an antiballistic missile system, it needs wrapping in several layers of increasingly close-range air defense (and they need to be working). For example:
- layer 0: a guy with a shotgun (or a rifle with smart sights)
- layer 1: an optical tracking system for aiming jammers and microwave effectors
- layer 2: air surveillance radar, automatic close-in weapons system (radar controlled miniguns, above ground to be able to shoot low)
- layer 3: short-range missiles or interceptor drones (above ground to be able to aim low)
- layer 4: medium range missiles or fighter aircraft
If the target is unmovable (Arrow 3 is unmovable), even more could be warranted. Since its missiles are very expensive, cheaper antiballistic systems should be nearby to engage slower threats.
Fortunately this was not an attack, and 100% likely provoked people to make improvements.
There are hundreds of unmovable military targets, using the Arrow 3 system as an example is nothing more than clickbait as it's not intended to shoot down drones.
The title could have easily been "German air defense fails to intercept suspicious drones" or something along those lines.
Almost anyone with a sense of logic would know that the troops who couldn't shoot the drone down were not, in fact, trying to use the Arrow to do it.