Several “basic projects” may have to be scrapped unless the German military is given additional funds, German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, warned on Wednesday.
The designated €1.7 billion ($1.87 billion) budget hike in 2020 was “good news,” she told lawmakers in the Bundestag. However, it would “not be sufficient,” without subsequent increases.
Read more: CDU’s AKK aims to boost Bundeswehr budget to NATO target
The projects at risk
In her first budget speech in Parliament as defense minister, Kramp-Karrenbauer said that soldiers who “risked life and limb” deserved the “best equipment.” But projects that would not be affordable included:
- Night vision goggles;
- a successor to the Tornado fighter jet;
- a joint venture with Norway to acquire new submarines.
The acquisition of a heavy life helicopter, and a German battleship were singled out as projects which were able to be supported. In addition, it is likely the money will also be spent on the continued digitalization of the German armed forces.
Read more: Opinion: More money won’t alone fix Germany’s military woes
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Bundeswehr struggles with faulty defense equipment
Faulty tanks and grounded helicopters — today in the German military
Frustrated soldiers and a defense system struggling to repair its way into a fully functioning military. And a new defense minister who will have to regain confidence from army representatives.
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Bundeswehr struggles with faulty defense equipment
Defective helicopters
Ageing helicopters have proved a big hurdle for the German military. The Bundeswehr has grounded all its 53 Tiger helicopters, after engineers said technical faults needed attention. Defense services were also forced to recall 22 Sea Lynx anti-submarine helicopters in 2014, confirming newspaper reports of malfunction.
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Bundeswehr struggles with faulty defense equipment
Manufacturing fault
The Eurofighter is the German military’s most modern fighter jet. As a result of a manufacturing error, only four of the 128 planes were in action in 2018. A pilot was killed in June 2019 when two Eurofighters collided in the northeastern state of Mecklenburg- Western Pomerania, prompting fresh calls for further restriction on the plane’s use.
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Bundeswehr struggles with faulty defense equipment
Let’s replace it… as soon as we make a decision
Tornado fighters have been flying for over 40 years. CDU plans to replace the ageing planes were thrown into question by the center left SPD in February 2019. But some officials claim flying the Tornado after 2030 could cost Germany around €8 billion ($9 billion) in repair costs.
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Bundeswehr struggles with faulty defense equipment
Not making any tracks
New Puma tanks for the German tanks came into use in 2018. Only 27 of the 71 Pumas were immediately ready for deployment — which prompted a fresh backlash against then Defense Secretary Ursula von der Leyen.
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Bundeswehr struggles with faulty defense equipment
Glitches at sea
New F125 frigates — but they are’t ready yet. German plans to replace the old frigates stalled in 2018, due to there not being enough spare parts to make them seaworthy. Officials also said Germany would have to soon stop signing up to NATO and UN missions in the same year — the country just did not have enough ships spare.
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Bundeswehr struggles with faulty defense equipment
Headache for AKK?
She has not been in the job long, but Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has inherited a huge problem. Old equipment being grounded is now a regular and pressing occurrence. Former Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen signed a deal to develop a “Future Combat Air System” in June — which is scheduled to replace Germany’s air force by 2040.
Author: Sven Pöhle / db
Assuming responsibility
Kramp-Karrenbauer laid out the new direction that she hoped to take Germany in her role as defense minister, calling for a new a more forthright and decisive role in its foreign policy and as part of defense organizations.
“Germany cannot and should not step back from playing a prominent role in the world,” she said. “The country should not let decisions be taken over our heads which go against our own interests in particular the money for the security and foreign policy.”
Furthermore, she added that threats around the world were growing, singling out Syria, Afghanistan, Russia, China, Iran as creating a volatile defense picture in the world from which Germany needed to protect itself and other nations.
The extra budget next year would also contribute to international military exercises and operations, such as the German army’s contribution to the current peace-keeping operation in Mali, she said.
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Germany’s NATO missions
Germany’s role in NATO
West Germany officially joined the trans-Atlantic alliance in 1955. However, it wasn’t until after reunification in 1990 that the German government considered “out of area” missions led by NATO. From peacekeeping to deterrence, Germany’s Bundeswehr has since been deployed in several countries across the globe in defense of its allies.
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Germany’s NATO missions
Bosnia: Germany’s first NATO mission
In 1995, Germany participated in its first “out of area” NATO mission as part of a UN-mandated peacekeeping mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina. During the deployment, German soldiers joined other NATO member forces to provide security in the wake of the Bosnian War. The peacekeeping mission included more than 60,000 troops from NATO’s member states and partners.
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Germany’s NATO missions
Keeping the peace in Kosovo
Since the beginning of the NATO-led peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, some 8,500 German soldiers have been deployed in the young country. In 1999, NATO launched an air assault against Serbian forces accused of carrying out a brutal crackdown against ethnic Albanian separatists and their civilian supporters. Approximately 550 Bundeswehr troops are still stationed in Kosovo.
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Germany’s NATO missions
Patrolling the Aegean Sea
In 2016, Germany deployed its combat support ship “Bonn” to lead a NATO mission backed by the EU in the Aegean Sea. The mission included conducting “reconnaissance, monitoring and surveillance of illegal crossings” in Greek and Turkish territorial waters at the height of the migration crisis. Germany, Greece and Turkey had requested assistance from the trans-Atlantic alliance.
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Germany’s NATO missions
More than a decade in Afghanistan
In 2003, Germany’s parliament voted to send Bundeswehr troops to Afghanistan in support of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). Germany became the third-largest contributor of troops and led the Regional Command North. More than 50 German troops were killed during the mission. Nearly a thousand soldiers are still deployed in Afghanistan as part of Resolute Support.
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Germany’s NATO missions
German tanks in Lithuania
Forming part of NATO’s “enhanced forward presence” in the Baltic states, 450 Bundeswehr soldiers have been deployed to Lithuania so far in 2017. The battalion-size battlegroups there are led by Germany, Canada, the UK and US to reinforce collective defense on the alliance’s eastern flank. It forms the “biggest reinforcement of Alliance collective defence in a generation,” according to NATO.
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Germany’s NATO missions
Taking over the leadership
The Bundeswehr is due to take over leadership of NATO’s multinational Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) at the start of 2019. The rapid reaction force has been set up to counter potential Russian aggression on the alliance’s eastern flank.
Author: Lewis Sanders IV
How high is the defense budget?
The draft budget for 2020 envisages €44.9 billion for the defense ministry. That represents 1.37% of GDP. However, NATO has put out repeated calls for defense spending to rise to 2% GDP from member nations’ economies. Germany’s percentage still remains low compared with other, often much smaller and poorer nations such as Lithuania. In 2019, Germany’s defense budget was just 1.2% of GDP.
What are future projections?
According to finance ministry projections, the defense budget will drop steadily to €44 billion by 2023, leaving the “NATO quota” at just 1.24% of GDP. Kramp-Karrenbauer said Germany had “committed itself” to meeting NATO requirements and urged defense spending to move back towards the 2% mark.
kmm/rt (dpa, AFP, Reuters)
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