Germany has reached an agreement with the United States to purchase American-made Tomahawk cruise missiles, with plans to deploy them on German soil, Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced Thursday.
Merz said the deal for the long-range missiles — designed to strike targets deep within enemy territory — was finalized earlier this week during the NATO summit held in Ankara, Turkey’s capital.
“This will close an important strategic gap in our defense, and at the same time, we will work to develop our own European systems and station them in Europe,” Merz told members of parliament after returning from the two-day gathering.
The agreement with the Trump administration represents a broader effort to share American military technology with key European allies, whose approach to national security has shifted dramatically since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.
Also on Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. would grant Ukraine a license to manufacture Patriot air defense systems — a significant development for Kyiv, which has long sought access to that technology to defend against Russian missile attacks.
The Tomahawk cruise missile has been part of the U.S. military arsenal since the 1980s. Though not the fastest missile available, it travels at a low altitude of roughly 100 feet — or about 30 meters — above the ground, making it difficult for enemy defense systems to detect.
The weapon can reach targets up to approximately 1,600 kilometers, or 1,000 miles, away, and its precision guidance technology makes it a preferred choice for striking well-defended or distant targets deep inside hostile territory.
