Germany to Buy US Tomahawk Missiles in Historic Defense Shift
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced on July 9, 2026, that Germany has reached an agreement with the United States to purchase and deploy ground-launched Tomahawk cruise missiles on German soil, marking one of the most significant shifts in European defense policy since the end of the Cold War. The deal, finalized on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, fills a critical strategic gap created by the collapse of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty and recent US decisions to reduce its military presence in Germany.
Context: A Strategic Gap Emerges
Germany’s current longest-range indirect fire capability is the M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MARS II), with a maximum range of approximately 43 miles (69 km). The German-made Taurus cruise missile extends to around 311 miles (500 km) — three to five times shorter than the Tomahawk. This left a critical gap in Germany’s ability to conduct deep strikes, a vulnerability highlighted by Russia’s deployment of prohibited intermediate-range missiles.
The INF Treaty, signed in 1987, had banned ground-based missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 km. Ironically, one of the weapons it outlawed was an earlier ground-launched version of the Tomahawk — the BGM-109G Gryphon — which had been deployed in Germany in the 1980s amid massive public protests. The treaty unraveled after the US withdrew in 2019, citing Russia’s deployment of the prohibited 9M729 (SSC-8) cruise missile, an allegation Moscow has consistently denied. Russia formally suspended its participation in 2023.
The Deal: What Germany Will Acquire
According to Deutsche Welle, Merz told the Bundestag that the agreement was reached “on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara” with the US government. “With this we are closing an important strategic gap in our defense,” Merz said. “And at the same time we will work on developing our own European systems and deploying them in Europe.”
Germany will acquire the ground-launched version of the Tomahawk cruise missile (Block Vb variant), to be deployed using Typhon launchers. The Tomahawk Block V has a range exceeding 1,000 miles (approx. 1,600 km), with the German Defense Ministry citing a range of up to 2,500 km — capable of striking targets deep inside Russia. A letter of intent for the procurement was signed on July 7, 2026, with Washington committing to grant approval in August 2026.
The number of missiles and launchers remains classified, but reports indicate Berlin sought up to 400 Tomahawk Block Vb missiles, valued at more than $1 billion, as The War Zone reported.
Why Now: US-German Relations and the Trump Factor
The deal comes amid a dramatic reshaping of transatlantic security arrangements. In May 2026, amid a breakdown in US-German relations triggered by German criticism of the US military campaign in Iran, the Trump administration announced it would reduce the US military presence in Germany by 5,000 soldiers. The Pentagon also appeared to abandon plans to deploy a US Army long-range fires battalion (2MDTF) equipped with Typhon launchers and Tomahawk missiles to Germany.
As Defense News reported, the planned purchase “appears to fit with US President Donald Trump’s push for European allies to pay for their own security, for example by buying US weapons.” Germany’s decision to purchase the systems outright represents a shift from relying on US forces stationed in Germany to German ownership and operation of these weapons.
Analysis: A New European Missile Race
Germany’s Tomahawk procurement is widely seen as an interim solution until European-developed long-range strike systems become available. Germany is part of the European Long-Range Strike Approach (ELSA), led by France and involving Italy, Poland, Sweden, and the UK. ELSA aims to develop a new long-range strike capability with a range of 1,000-2,000 km, targeting entry into service in the 2030s. Separately, Germany and the UK have unveiled plans to jointly develop a deep precision-strike weapon with a range exceeding 2,000 km.
Nina Werkhäuser, DW’s Berlin correspondent specializing in defense, noted that “European countries do not yet have comparable weapons of their own and are therefore reliant on US capabilities for their defense. Developing a European system of their own is a high priority in Berlin and other European capitals, but is likely to take quite some time.”
The deployment directly counters Russia’s growing inventory of intermediate-range weapons. Russia has deployed nuclear-capable Iskander missiles and MiG-31 Foxhound aircraft armed with Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missiles to Kaliningrad, while transferring tactical nuclear weapons infrastructure to Belarus. In November 2024, Russia used the new Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile in combat for the first time in Ukraine.
What’s Next
Several key questions remain unanswered. The quantity of missiles and launchers, total cost, delivery timeline, and specific deployment locations within Germany have not been disclosed. Potential basing locations include eastern Germany near the Polish border, though no official announcement has been made.
Merz struck a dual-track approach in his announcement, emphasizing that Germany will simultaneously work on developing European weapons systems. “These agreements make it clear to me that NATO is, and remains, a trans-Atlantic alliance,” he told the Bundestag. “But we as Europeans are also strong, and we have understood that we cannot simply outsource our security.”
The deployment will likely accelerate a new intermediate-range missile competition in Europe, reminiscent of the 1980s Euromissile crisis, though in a fundamentally different geopolitical context. How Russia will respond — whether through additional missile deployments to Kaliningrad and Belarus, or through nuclear signaling — remains the most consequential open question for European security in the months ahead.