Report Says Germany's Military Is In A Mess. Not Enough Tanks For Training. Short Of Everything

German Armed Forces and US Army troops. Photo: Visual Information Specialist Markus Rauchenberger/US Army  

EurAsian Times: Last year, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced historic investments for modernizing the German military. However, going by the latest report by Högl, it would seem that the Bundeswehr has a long way to go. 

Högl’s report details the disastrous condition of the Bundeswehr, which lacks not only the boats, planes, tanks, and military equipment but also the necessary education and training for its personnel.

In February 2022, Scholz pledged €100 billion (US$107 billion) in funds to create a “capable and ultra-modern” force that he said would be Europe’s most powerful conventional military. 

However, Högl said that €100 billion would not be enough and called for additional funding for the armed forces. 

“The 100 billion euros won’t compensate for all the deficiencies. Military experts estimate that a total sum of 300 billion euros is necessary,” she said.  

Read more ....  

Update #1: German military revamp 'too sluggish,' says commissioner (DW)  

Update #2: German Military Has ‘Too Little of Everything’ (AFP)  

Update #3: German military boost fails to spend single euro (BBC)  

WNU Editor: The German Parliamentary Commissioner is blunt .... German Military in Worse Shape Than Before Russia's Invasion -Official (Reuters). The German Defense Minister has a different opinion .... Defense minister denies German military is 'a mess' (AP).

German Government Studying Diverting Green Funds To Defense Projects

© Bundeswehr  

Bloomberg: Germany Studies Tapping Coal-Exit Funds for Defense Projects 

Germany is considering re-routing existing subsidies for eliminating coal-fired power plants to help defense manufacturers build new production facilities, according to people familiar with the matter. 

The discussions between Germany’s federal government and regional states are aimed at providing the country’s armed forces with more weapons and ammunition and creating jobs in regions that are affected by the shift away from coal, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the talks are confidential. 

Germany’s Bundeswehr has been suffering from outdated and partly dysfunctional equipment for years. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine the German government last year earmarked 100 billion euros ($109 billion) in defense spending to expand and modernize its armed forces. 

A spokeswoman for the Economy Ministry did not have an immediate comment.  

Read more ....  

Update: Great Reset Fail? Germany Mulls Diverting Green Agenda Cash Aimed at Killing Coal to Arms Industry (Breitbart)  

WNU Editor: Just a reminder. Germany's Green Party is a major coalition partner in the German government.

Germany Says Its Defense Budget Insufficient To Overhaul Military

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (via Twitter) 

EurAsian Times: $108B Not Enough! Germany Says Its Defense Budget Insufficient To Overhaul Military Amid Russia-Ukraine War 

The new German Defense Minister, Boris Pistorius, has made alarming observations about Berlin’s ambitious defense spending just days after taking over the reins after Christine Lambrecht’s resignation. 

Boris Pistorius recently said in an interview that the special defense fund of 100 billion euros ($108.5 billion) would not be sufficient for Germany to modernize its military and pay for equipment maintenance.

“The 100 billion euros will not be enough,” the SPD politician told the Süddeutsche Zeitung. “We also have new maintenance costs with every new system. So with every new device, there are new and higher running costs.”  

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: German public opinion when it comes to defense and national security issues is changing .... Are Germans really that pacifist anymore? (The Local). 

Bottom line. The German public will support more defense spending.

A Sobering Report On The Sad State Of The German Military (Video)

80s radio equipment, mass vehicle breakdowns, lack of basic underwear, and training not with machine guns but...broomsticks?

Germany's military is underfunded, underequipped, and understaffed - and it has been for years. pic.twitter.com/6IQnjk7FDg

— DW News (@dwnews) January 28, 2023

WNU Editor: The German defense budget is one of the biggest in the world. You have to wonder where is all the money going. Salaries and pensions I guess.

Growing Number Of German Soldiers Are Asking Not To Be Sent To War

German soldiers are often deployed domestically for all manner of non-combat roles, in this case troops are helping battle a bark beetle infestation in forests in Saxony in eastern Germany. Image: picture alliance/dpa/dpa-Zentralbild  

DW: Spike in German troop numbers asking not to be sent to war 

It's fewer than 1,000 troops, but nevertheless, the number of German Bundeswehr soldiers who asked to be exempted from serving in war zones rose markedly in 2022. This option dates back to the era of national service. 

Almost 1,000 German military personnel applied for an exemption from serving in combat zones in 2022, a sharp rise on 2021's figures, according to a report published on Friday. 

A spokesperson for the German ministry responsible for processing the applications told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland group of newspapers that 951 Bundeswehr soldiers had applied for the exemption. 

 "In 2021, 201 applications for exemption from combat service were received, in 2022 it was a total of 951 applications," the spokesperson for the Ministry for Family and Civil Affairs told the newspapers.  

The Bundeswehr has roughly 183,000 serving personnel, meaning far fewer than 1% of troops applied for the status in all.   

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: Then why join the military? What did German soldiers expect?

Germany Does Not Have Funds To Modernize And Restock Its Military

TFIGlobal: Germany runs out of funds to revamp its military  

Olaf Scholz is abandoning Germany's most ambitious goal of becoming the military superpower. 

There should be no doubt that the Federal authorities of the West have a puppy love for the leaders in Kyiv. Germany has been the European Union’s most fervent proponent of Ukraine. Berlin provided Ukraine with 50 bunker-buster missiles, 21.8 million rounds for weapons, and 53,000 rounds for self-propelled anti-aircraft guns. 

However, the Bundeswehr (German Military) has suffered dramatically due to this blind love. Business Insider previously reported that Germany only has two days’ worth of ammo, much less than the NATO minimum or even the standard for a small militia.  

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: Even though Germany's ammo stocks are at a record low level .... Germany Drained by Ukraine Crisis, Has Enough Ammo for Just 1-2 Days of Combat: Report (Sputnik), the focus is to boost German military aid to Ukraine .... German Defense, Foreign Ministers Urge Major Increase In Financial Aid For Ukraine's Military (RFE).

Report: German Submarines Are Fitted With Russian Navigation Systems

DW: German submarines fitted with Russian technology: report 

A report that German submarines are navigating the globe with Russian hardware has sparked security concerns. The newspaper Bild claims that the equipment is "open" to cyber sabotage and even "full loss of operability." 

A navigation system of Russian origin called Navi-Sailor 4100 has been installed on at least 100 vessels operated by Germany's military, the Bundestag, including submarines, since 2005, according to the mass-market newspaper Bild am Sonntag. 

The navigation devices were developed by Transas, a company founded in St. Petersburg in 1990. Although it was purchased in 2018 by the Finnish firm Wartsila, the defense division remained in Russian hands. 

The Bild report claims that the system's data encryption does not comply with military security standards, in an apparent reference to NATO, of which Germany is a member. 

Read more .... 

WNU Editor: There is some stuff that you just cannot make up. I am also willing to bet that the Russian supplier was the lowest bidder.

The German $800 Million Euro Hawk Drone Fiasco

Northrop Grumman 

Warzone/The Drive: Germany’s Unwanted Euro Hawk Drone Has Finally Become A Very Costly Museum Exhibit 

After nearly $800 million was spent on it, the unique RQ-4E unmanned aerial vehicle will be put to rest in a Berlin museum. 

The story of Germany’s Euro Hawk surveillance drone — a planned Europeanized version of the Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk — has finally come to its sorry end. The ill-fated RQ-4E unmanned aerial vehicle is headed to a museum in the German capital, after plans to sell the one-off aircraft to Canada collapsed. 

A report on the German-language Augen geradeaus! defense website confirmed that the final resting place of the Euro Hawk will be the Bundeswehr Military History Museum at Berlin-Gatow Airfield. 

Read more .... 

WNU editor: Will anyone be held accountable for this fiasco? Probably not.

Germany Had The Largest Defense Budget Increase Among The World's Top 15 States In 2019

DW: SIPRI: Germany significantly increases military spending

More and more money is going toward the world's militaries, with the US and China leading the way. But no other top-spending country has increased its military expenditure year-over-year as much as Germany.

Global military expenditure reached $1.9 trillion (€1.7 trillion) in 2019, the highest annual sum in real terms since 1988. That sum marked an increase of 3.6% over 2018, the largest annual increase since 2010, according to the latest figures from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

In Germany, spending rose by 10% to $49.3 billion — the largest defense budget increase among the world's top 15 states when it comes to military expenditures.

Read more ....

Update: German Military Spending Up by Double Digits as World Total Hits Highest Level Since Cold War (Sputnik).

WNU Editor: I guess President Trump's threat to remove US military forces from Germany and reposition them in Poland worked, especially when the Polish government signalled that they would approve of such a deployment.

Ex-German Army Laptop Filled With Secrets Sold On eBay For $100

Classified documents on an old Bundeswehr laptop about the Ozelot air defense system. Der Spiegel

Sputnik: Ex-German Army Laptop Sold on eBay Told Buyer How to Destroy Ozelot Air Defense System

An old laptop once used by the German Army was recently sold on eBay, but the sellers forgot to remove its hard drive first. The buyers, fortunately a team of security researchers, found easy access to documents instructing them how to destroy the army’s Ozelot air defense system.

When pawning your old computers, remember to remove or wipe the hard drives first! Germany’s Bundeswehr nearly told a random internet buyer how to take down one of its anti-aircraft vehicles; fortunately, the folks who scooped it up were a pair of German security researchers.

Read more ....

Update #1: German Military Laptop Sold on eBay Included Classified Missile Information (The New York Times)
Update #2: Laptop with classified files sold on eBay in German army blunder (The Telegraph)

WNU Editor: Groan. Another major security leak.

German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer Wants The Bundeswehr To Be Ready For A Sudden Military Buildup

German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer

The Trumpet: Germany Prepares for a Sudden Military Buildup

A new Bundeswehr initiative signals a transfer of power in procurement to Army leaders.

At this year’s Bundeswehr conference, German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said she wanted the Germany military to be better prepared to swing into action. While prior defense ministers announced similar turning points, the new initiative breaks with former traditions and incorporates ideas from Army leaders, Germany’s n-tv.de noted on February 3. She wants to change the way the Army buys weapons, so it can arm more quickly.

In his current annual military report, military commissioner Hans-Peter Bartels criticized the Army, saying it has “[t]oo little materiel, too little staff, too much bureaucracy.”

Kramp-Karrenbauer is tired of hearing repeated criticism from within and outside the Army portraying the troops as unfit for battle. She is promising sudden and noticeable change. She declared 2020 to be a turning point for the Army. “We have to deliver results in a shorter period of time and increase operational readiness this year,” she said (Trumpet translation throughout).

Read more ....

WNU Editor: I have to see it to believe it.

German Army Uses Cars Instead Of Armoured Vehicles For Their Training Exercises

FILE PHOTO: German soldiers take part in a drill involving a Puma infantry fighting vehicle at a training area in Munster, Germany, on May 2, 2006. © Reuters / Fabrizio Bensch

Daily Mail: German army is so short of armoured vehicles, soldiers have to jump out cars and PRETEND they're driving tanks during training exercises

* There is a shortage of the country's new line of Puma tanks worth £5 billion
* 'Other vehicles (are used) to practise mounting and dismounting', ministry says
* Only 20 per cent of the army's Pumas are working at operational level
* Germany does not meet the two per cent guideline NATO spend on its military

The German army is so short of armoured vehicles that soldiers have to jump out of cars and pretend they're driving tanks during training exercises.

The defence ministry confirmed troops were deploying 'other vehicles to practise mounting and dismounting' because of the lack of Puma tanks.

Instead the soldiers were using cars because only 20 per cent of the army's Pumas are in working order, according to Bild.

The dire situation is reminiscent of German troops being required to use broomsticks painted to look like guns during a NATO exercise in Norway in 2014.

Read more ....

Update #1: Germany shamed as army soldiers are forced to use their cars as tanks due to gear shortage (Express)
Update #2: German army lacks infantry fighting vehicles, some soldiers forced to use CARS during drills – media (RT)

WNU Editor: Germany spends tens of billions on its military. You have to wonder where all the money is going.

Germany Has Less than Two Dozen Helicopters That Are Ready For Combat

Personnel reassmble an NH90 after its arrival in the northwestern African country of Mali in 2017. Bundeswehr

Warzone/The Drive: Germany Has Fewer Than 10 Tiger And 12 NH90 Helicopters Ready For Combat

Germany blames Airbus for the helicopters' low availability, but it is the latest example of the country's general continuing readiness woes.

A report has emerged that shows just 15 percent of Germany's Tiger attack helicopters and only around 12 percent of its NH90 transport helicopters were mission capable as of November 2019. The German Armed Forces, or Bundeswehr, has blamed Airbus, which provides contract maintenance services for both types, for the low availability rates, but this also comes as German authorities continue to struggle to improve readiness across the country's military.

German newspaper Bild was first to report on the low readiness of the two German military helicopter types on Jan. 1, 2020. A leaked Bundeswehr report that the outlet obtained said that eight out of 53 Tigers and 12 of 99 NH90s were "ready-to-use." Germany took delivery of its first Tiger in 2005 from what was then known as Eurocopter, which morphed into Airbus Helicopters in 2014. The German military received the first NH90, which NHIndustries, a consortium that includes Airbus, produces, in 2006.

Read more ....

Update: Is Germany's Military Dying? (David Axe, National Interest)

WNU Editor: For a country that spends tens of billions on defense, having only a few helicopters ready for combat does not make any sense.

German Troops Are Still Waiting For Combat Boots

DW: German troops wait 8 years for new combat boots

Since 2016 the German military — the Bundeswehr — has planned to provide troops with new combat boots. Now soldiers must wait longer to be properly equipped, something one member of parliament described as "grotesque."

German troops will have to wait until 2022 to receive new combat boots due to "limited production capacity in industry," media reported.

The inability of the Bundeswehr to equip soldiers with basic footwear adds to a series of scandals over lack of equipment and questions over combat readiness in the NATO member.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: Not being able to provide new combat boots is the least of the problems for the German military — the Bundeswehr .... It’s High Time for Germany to Fund, and Fix, Its Military (Daniel DePetris, Defense One).

German Chancellor Angela Merkel Promises To Meet Defense Spending Target

German Chancellor Angela Merkel talks to soldiers from the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force after an exercise in Munster, Germany, on Monday. Photo: dpa via AP

Reuters: Merkel promises to meet defense spending target amid U.S. criticism

STRALSUND, Germany (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday she was taking Berlin’s commitment toward its NATO allies seriously to further increase defense spending toward the agreed target.

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized Germany’s failure to raise defense spending to 2% of economic output as mandated by the NATO military alliance.

The U.S. ambassador to Germany said last Friday that Berlin’s reluctance to spend more money on defense and its continued reliance on U.S. troops for protection were “offensive”.

Speaking at a panel discussion organized by Ostsee Zeitung local newspaper in the Baltic Sea town of Stralsund, Merkel said she took seriously the 2% defense spending target, adding: “We said we want to achieve 1.5% by 2024. And that is our common will.”

Read more ....

WNU Editor: German Chancellor Angela Merkel will be retiring from public life soon. She is making promises that she cannot keep.

German Military Has Grounded Its Fleet Of 'Tiger Helicopters'

DW: Germany: Bundeswehr grounds 'Tiger' helicopters due to technical faults

The German military has suspended all flights involving the aircraft. The grounding comes on the heels of two fatal incidents involving faulty German military aircraft in the past two months.

The Bundeswehr, Germany's armed forces, grounded all its "Tiger" helicopters on Wednesday, due to technical faults found in their machinery. As a result, flight operations involving all 53 aircraft were temporarily suspended.

"Certain bolts that are installed in the helicopter could have a flaw," said the Army Press and Information Center. Before new flights the machines must be "thoroughly checked and bolts replaced if necessary."

Read more ....

Update #1: Germany grounds Tiger helicopters after Eurocopter crash warning - Spiegel (Reuters)
Update #2: Bundeswehr Crisis: Germany Grounds All 'Tiger' Helicopters Amid String of Technical Mishaps (Sputnik)

WNU Editor: Add this to a long list of equipment woes for the German military.

Germany Question NATO’s 2-Percent Spending Target

Soldiers of the 33rd Panzergrenadier bataillon stand ready for inspection in front of a Puma infantry fighting vehicle after taking part in a drill at the headquarters of the 33rd Panzergrenadier bataillon in Neustadt am Ruebenberge on June 29, 2016. Photo by AFP

CNBC: ‘Will Donald Trump ever be happy?’: Ex-German defense chief questions calls for increased NATO spend

* Trump has repeatedly called on NATO allies like Germany to increase contributions toward defense, often criticizing them for not complying with a commitment to spend 2% of their gross domestic product (GDP).
* But Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, the former German defense minister, doubted whether Germany would ever reach that target.

A former German defense chief told CNBC Friday that it may be impossible for his country to meet NATO spending targets and questioned whether President Donald Trump would be happy with any outcome on the issue.

Trump has repeatedly called on NATO allies like Germany to increase contributions toward defense, often criticizing them for not complying with a commitment to spend 2% of their gross domestic product (GDP). But Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, the former German defense minister, doubted whether Germany would ever reach that target.

Read more ....

Update: Germans go back to sparring over NATO’s 2-percent spending target (Defense News)

WNU Editor: Germany and other countries made a defense commitment a few years ago to a 2% of GDP spending target. President Trump just wants them to keep their promise .... which they obviously do not want to keep. Is this President Trump's fault? Of course not, and they do not like being publicly shamed as liars.

Germany Has A Credibility Problem With NATO

Spiegel Online: Patience Wears Thin with Germany's NATO Spending

As NATO prepares to celebrate its 70th anniversary, the most successful military alliance in history finds itself in the throes of an existential crisis. The unfulfillled promises of some member countries -- in particular Germany -- to spend more on defense threaten to tear the block apart.

Sometimes they miss him, the old warrior. Jim Mattis was always a calming presence. A paternal glance, soothing gesture or brief remark from the former general and Pentagon chief, and Gavin Williamson, the British defense minister, would cool his jets. But, having resigned after a dispute with his president, Mattis wasn't present when NATO defense ministers met in Brussels in mid-February.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: It is not only breaking promises that has put Germany's commitment to increase its defense budget into doubt, it is also comments like this one that is making everyone wonder if German defense policy has become irrational .... German Chancellor Merkel Supports Her Successor's Idea For An EU Aircraft Carrier (March 12, 2019).

Germany To Cut Its Defense Budget

A PzH 2000 howitzer, a Leopard 2 tank and a PUMA infantry fighting vehicle (L-R) of German army take part in an exercise in Munster on September, 28, 2018. © Reuters / Fabian Bimmer

Daily Mail: Germany says it will abandon its NATO spending commitments and invest less than promised, sparking US anger after Trump criticised European allies for expecting a free ride

* Berlin's latest budget will see defence spending drop well below two per cent
* Donald Trump has accused Germany of freeloading on U.S. military might
* Washington's ambassador in Berlin said planned cuts were a 'worrisome signal'
* But Angela Merkel said Germany would not cut aid to raise its military outlays

Germany's military spending is set to fall below its NATO targets, in the latest flashpoint in Berlin's long-running row with Washington.

The latest German budget plans, revealed on Monday, will see defence spending drop well below the two per cent of GDP expected from NATO members.

U.S. ambassador Richard Grenell said the cuts were a 'worrisome signal', while President Donald Trump has repeatedly accused Germany of freeloading on U.S. military might.

But German Chancellor Angela Merkel rejected the U.S. criticism, saying Germany will not cut foreign aid to raise military spending.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: Europeans like German Chancellor Merkel are questioning the U.S. commitment to NATO. The real question that should be asked is .... are European leaders like German Chancellor Merkel committed to NATO. If spending money is the metric that one uses to answer this question, I will have to say that their commitment to NATO is based on their own financial and political considerations.

Update: The Germans do not like being called out on broken promises .... Call for US envoy to Germany to be sent home over NATO spending row (Politico).

More News On German Defense Budget Cuts

German military commissioner, US ambassador alarmed by budgetary restraints -- DW
Merkel rejects criticism of German defense spending -- FOX News/AP
Germany Plans to Cut Military Budget in Spite of US Calls to Reach NATO Target -- Sputnik
Germany ‘committed’ to increasing defense budget, but nowhere near US expectations -- RT
Why Germany Should Further Boost Defense Spending, and Why It Probably Won’t -- Franz-Stefan Gady, Defense One

German Chancellor Merkel Supports Her Successor's Idea For An EU Aircraft Carrier

French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle. Wikipedia

DW: Angela Merkel backs plan for EU aircraft carrier

Angela Merkel has voiced support for some major aspects of CDU leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer's EU vision. The proposals include a joint European aircraft carrier and a permanent EU seat on the Security Council.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday endorsed some of the key European reform ideas put forward by her successor to the Christian Democratic Union leadership Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, including a joint EU aircraft carrier.

Kramp-Karrenbauer, who succeeded Merkel as leader of the CDU in December, etched out her vision in a weekend response to French President Emmanuel Macron's proposals for European Union reform.

Read more ....

Update #1: Germany's Merkel welcomes idea of European aircraft carrier (FOX News/AP)
Update #2: The strange case of a ‘European aircraft carrier' (Sebastian Sprenger, Defense News)

WNU Editor: When you factor in the planes that are needed, the sailors required, and the support ships to protect such an aircraft carrier, this German idea for an aircraft carrier is years (if not decades away) from becoming real. My suggestion to the German Chancellor and to her successor is that they should prioritize fixing the current military, rather than dreaming of the future .... Germany not satisfied with readiness of submarines, some aircraft (Reuters).