BERLIN: The United St­­a­tes has approved the sale of long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles to Germany, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Thursday, despite previous doubts over a planned deployment.

“On the sidelines of the Nato meeting in Ankara, we agreed with the American government that American Tomahawk missiles will be purchased by us and stationed in Germany,” Merz told MPs in a statement to parliament. The move will “close an important strategic gap in our defences”, he said.

“At the same time we will work on developing our own European systems and stationing them in Eu­­­rope.” Merz did not say wh­­­­­en he expected the Tom­a­­hawks to be delivered.

The missiles are mainly launched from submarines and warships and can travel more than 1,600 kilometres (1,000 miles). A German government source said the defence ministers for both countries signed a letter of intent for the Tomahawk missile deal on Tuesday after previous negotiations between Merz and US President Donald Trump and senior security officials from both countries.

Published in Dawn, July 10th, 2026