Germany’s defense shift holds lessons for Middle East https://arab.news/gthhk Germany is undergoing an industrial reset. Its transition from cars to cannons is more a response to crisis than opportunity, but it is a welcome reorientation nonetheless. The experiment carries lessons for a far more volatile region: the Middle East, where defense requirements are immediate and economic diversification is a strategic priority. After 40 days of bombing of Iran and parts of Iraq by the US and Israel, the regional landscape is marked by tension and instability. Tehran and its proxies have repeatedly deployed missiles and drones to target infrastructure and civilian areas, from Gulf cities to Kurdish regions in Iraq. These attacks are part of a broader strategy to stretch defenses and impose economic and psychological costs. The response of the Gulf states so far has proved that modern defensive systems work. Missile interceptors and antidrone technologies have saved lives, protected critical infrastructure and prevented wider escalation. They have averted mass-casualty events that, in another era, might have touched off a full-scale regional war. In doing so, they have also underscored that demand for advanced defensive systems will continue to rise. Germany does not face an immediate security threat like so many Arab countries do, but its export-led model has been ailing under pressure from China, weak global demand and geopolitical shocks. Once-mighty car manufacturers have posted steep profit declines and job losses, prompting a rethink of the country’s economic direction. This has forced Berlin to attempt a strategic pivot, turning industrial decline into economic opportunity at a time when Ukraine’s armament needs alone dwarf those of the rest of Europe combined. As security concerns mount, Germany is shifting capital, talent and industrial capacity into defense production. According to a recent Wall Street Journal report, idle factories are being repurposed,