The United States has approved the sale of long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles to Germany, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said 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. 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. In the letter, the United States committed to granting formal approval for the sale of Tomahawk miss