Germany has approved the delivery of 150 IRIS-T air-to-air missiles to Saudi Arabia, a government spokesperson said on Wednesday, resuming arms exports to the kingdom banned since the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
The deal was authorised by Germany’s federal security council in December, according to a document from the economy ministry seen by Reuters, confirming an earlier report by Spiegel news magazine.
The IRIS-T missiles, produced by German arms maker Diehl, are fired by Saudi Arabia’s Eurofighter jets.
The new batch which is yet to be delivered is meant to replenish Saudi stocks depleted over the past years, a security source said, adding the missiles had lately also been used to shoot down drones fired from Houthi-controlled Yemen.
In a major shift of policy, both Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said this week the government in Berlin would no longer stand in the way of British plans to sell additional Eurofighters to Riyadh.