Germany Eyes €3.4B Typhon and Tomahawk Purchase from US

Germany's defense ministry is planning to allocate nearly €3.4 billion for U.S.-made Typhon launchers and Tomahawk cruise missiles, a purchase that would give the Bundeswehr its first ground-based long-range strike capability.

The estimate appears in an internal government planning document and is expected to feed into preparations for Germany's 2027 budget.

The final cost could change before parliamentary approval and a formal procurement decision.

The defense ministry declined to comment on the financial figure, citing the budget process and parliament's spending authority.

A ministry spokesperson nevertheless confirmed that “the procurement of the U.S. Typhon system with Tomahawk cruise missiles remains intended.”

Closing a Long-Range Gap

The planned acquisition would allow German forces to operate a ground-launched weapon with a stated range of about 2,500 kilometers.

Germany currently lacks its own ground-based long-range strike system.

The Tomahawk, produced by Raytheon, would let the Bundeswehr strike launch sites, logistics centers, and other military targets far behind opposing lines from German-controlled launchers.

Lockheed Martin's Typhon system, formally known as the Strategic Mid-Range Fires System, is a mobile U.S. Army launcher capable of firing Tomahawks.

Germany's current planning document envisages bringing the system into use by the end of the decade.

Berlin Shifts Toward National Control

The project follows an earlier plan under which U.S. forces would have deployed long-range weapons in Germany.

In 2024, then-U.S. President Joe Biden and then-Chancellor Olaf Scholz agreed that American forces would begin stationing weapons including Tomahawks in Germany from 2026.

Those systems would have remained under U.S. command. That arrangement was later scrapped by Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, Berlin began pursuing a German-operated alternative. In 2025, it formally approached Washington about buying Typhon launchers and Tomahawks.

An agreement in principle followed at NATO's Ankara summit in July between Trump and Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

The German government subsequently said Washington had agreed to authorize the sale of Tomahawks and their Typhon launchers, while noting that the details remained under negotiation.

The shift would leave the Bundeswehr owning and operating the capability rather than relying on a U.S. long-range fires unit based in Germany.

Industry Role Under Negotiation

Berlin is also pressing for German industry to participate in the program.

The internal planning document says the U.S. government has offered “the prospect of industrial cooperation” alongside the planned procurement.

Officials familiar with the discussions said options include co-production and participation by German companies in the Tomahawk supply chain.

No production structure or division of work has been agreed.

Any arrangement would have to accommodate U.S. control over sensitive technology and intellectual property.

The negotiations reflect Berlin's wider effort to ensure European companies can maintain and support U.S.-designed weapons rather than depend solely on direct imports.

Supply Pressures Complicate Timeline

Germany's push comes as Washington faces pressure to rebuild missile inventories depleted during the war against Iran.

That has created uncertainty over how quickly Tomahawks could be delivered to Germany.

Manufacturers on both sides of the Atlantic are also working through large order backlogs as NATO governments raise defense spending toward a target of 3.5% of GDP on core defense by 2035.

For Berlin, European participation could both strengthen the domestic case for a major U.S. procurement and add manufacturing capacity to a strained transatlantic weapons supply chain.

Tomahawk is one element of Germany's wider effort to expand long-range strike options.

Berlin is pursuing European-developed weapons in parallel and is modernizing its existing Taurus cruise missile.