Germany Prepares First Purchase of Ukrainian Bars Missiles

Berlin is moving to sign a contract for the first Ukrainian-made offensive missiles for the German armed forces. The agreement is expected to be finalized within the coming weeks, according to sources cited by the Financial Times.

The initial purchase will provide the Bundeswehr with a small batch of Bars missiles for technical trials scheduled for early 2027. If the tests yield satisfactory results, the government plans to expand the order to several hundred units. The Bars is a jet-powered weapon with a range of up to 1,000 kilometers and a payload capacity of up to 105 kilograms. While Ukraine often refers to the system as a drone missile, Germany classifies it as a low-cost cruise missile.

A joint Ukrainian-German company has begun producing the missiles on German soil. The first batch of these domestically produced weapons was delivered to Ukraine in October. This new arrangement will allow the venture to manufacture units specifically for the German military. This marks the first known instance of the Bundeswehr procuring Ukrainian-developed offensive weaponry for its own inventory.

The acquisition is part of a wider strategy to strengthen European deterrence against Moscow. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has noted that the Bars has been used to strike military bases and energy facilities inside Russia. Currently, the German armed forces rely exclusively on the air-launched Taurus cruise missile, which has a range of approximately 500 kilometers. The planned purchase of the BGM-109 Tomahawk and the Typhon ground-based launcher from Raytheon may face delays of up to five years.

Germany is also preparing to buy and test a small batch of Anthem cruise missiles from the US startup Covenant. The Anthem costs roughly one-tenth as much as a Tomahawk, which is priced between $4 million and $6 million. One source indicated that the Bars is even cheaper than the Anthem, but Berlin intends to purchase both systems. Plans to acquire the Ukrainian Flamingo cruise missile have been postponed for the time being.

Media reports indicate the German government expects to spend nearly 12 billion euros on a new arsenal of long-range weapons. This spending aligns with similar moves by other European nations. Denmark recently announced a billion-dollar deal to buy high-precision long-range missiles for the first time in its history.