Germany approved almost 800 million euros ($913 million) in arms export licences to Israel during the first five months of 2026. That is more than the previous 20 months combined, according to data disclosed by the Federal Foreign Office in response to a parliamentary question from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party (Al Jazeera).

An export licence is official government permission to send military goods to another country. It does not mean the goods have actually been shipped yet. Think of it like a permit to build a house: you have approval to go ahead, but the construction may not have started.

Nearly all of these approvals happened in April and May 2026. More than 60 percent of the total value is set aside for one unnamed "major maritime project" that analysts believe is a submarine built by a German company called ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS). That submarine, called the INS Drakon, is a Dolphin II-class vessel capable of carrying nuclear weapons, with an estimated value of 480 million euros ($548 million). Israel first ordered the Drakon back in 2012.

Germany is reportedly paying for about 30 percent of the Drakon's costs and about one-third of the costs for a future class of submarines called the Dakar. This financial support is not new. It spans multiple German governments across different political parties, part of a long-standing arrangement to supply Israel with Dolphin-class submarines.

The Foreign Office and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy both declined to comment on the matter. The data came to light through a tool called a Kleine Anfrage, which translates to "small inquiry." It is a formal question that opposition parties in the German parliament can use to force the government to release records. In this case, the AfD party filed the request — not the parties that usually push for scrutiny of arms exports.

An earlier parliamentary response from February 2026 (Drucksache 21/3774) stated that no "war weapons" (Kriegswaffen) were delivered to Israel (Bundestag). In German law, "war weapons" is a specific, narrow category that includes things like tanks and fighter jets. The submarine parts fall under a broader arms export category, not this stricter one. So the February statement and the current disclosures can both be true at the same time: the government approved licences, but no "war weapons" were shipped. Previous Bundestag responses (Drucksache 21/1958, published October 2025; and Drucksache 21/1164, published August 2025) provided earlier rounds of weapons export data to Israel (Bundestag; Bundestag).

In May 2026, TKMS signed a memorandum of understanding with Elbit Systems, Israel's largest private defence contractor. A memorandum of understanding is a non-binding agreement that signals both sides want to work together more closely in the future. The specific details of that cooperation have not been made public.

TKMS is also growing its business elsewhere. Canada selected the company as its preferred bidder to build up to 12 submarines, with the vessel value alone estimated at 12 to 18 billion euros. Together with the Israeli submarine deliveries and the Elbit agreement, this makes TKMS a key player in naval defence for NATO countries and their partners.

The broader context here involves the tension between Germany's arms export rules and its defence industry goals. Under European Union rules (Common Position 2008/943/CFSP) and Germany's own "Political Principles Governing Arms Exports," licence decisions are supposed to consider human rights and the risk that the weapons could be used in an ongoing conflict. The fact that nearly all of the five-month approval volume was packed into April and May — after months of very limited licensing — raises questions about what drove the timing and whether more licences are on the way. The government's refusal to comment leaves those questions open.

There is also a pattern worth noting. Major arms export decisions in Germany tend to come to light only after the fact, when opposition parties ask the right questions — not because the government volunteered the information. For anyone following this area, the TKMS-Elbit agreement and the financing of the Dakar-class submarines suggest that the defence relationship between Germany and Israel is growing deeper, even as the political debate over arms transfers to Israel remains unresolved.