Billions spent by the German army to upgrade weapons

According to the report of the international group Tasnim news agency, quoted by Germany’s “NTV”, in During the war in Ukraine, there has always been a shortage of artillery ammunition, and the inventory of the German army has also decreased drastically in recent years. Now the German Ministry of Defense orders billions worth of 155 mm shells from Rheinmetall Germany. In this way, the German army has ordered artillery ammunition from Rheinmetall Arms Company up to 8.5 billion euros. . The company announced in Dusseldorf that a relevant framework agreement was signed for the delivery of this ammunition. The main purpose of this order is to increase the reserves in the army and allied countries, as well as to “support Ukraine in the defensive battle” against Russia. The recent history of the company itself spoke. He emphasized: The German federal government keeps its promise and guarantees the use of the capacity of the future Rhine Metal plant in Lower Saxony. According to him, the framework contract that existed from July 2023 has a maximum value of about It was 1.3 billion euros and the contract has now increased to 7.2 billion euros. The number of ordered shells, which can be fired at a distance of 40 kilometers and have a caliber of 155 mm, is not mentioned, but it is likely to be several million. Start at the beginning of 2025. The buyer will primarily be the Federal Republic of Germany, which will provide part of the equipment needed by Ukraine. The partner countries of the Netherlands, Estonia and Denmark are also involved in this order. This contract was signed by the Bundeswehr equipment office BAAINBw.

According to German NTV, “Boris Pistorius”, the German Federal Minister of Defense is also planning another large order to upgrade the Bundeswehr. The German Ministry of Defense wants to order 105 Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks worth 2.93 billion euros from the KNDS arms company, which are to be delivered to the army by 2030. This news was reported by “Spiegel” weekly, citing the model of the budget committee of the Bundestag. The committee must approve such large-scale projects and deal with the tank deal before the summer break.

According to declassified documents, this large order was, on the one hand, to ensure the equipment of Germany’s planned combat brigade in Lithuania is considered to have enough battle tanks. The documents state that the brigade will be “one of the first forward defense elements in the NATO alliance”.

As a result, “the best possible and uniform equipment” is essential for the brigade, according to the German defense minister. In addition, additional Leopard tanks are on the agenda for the modernization of the army’s armored forces in Germany, which is a “high priority” for the Bundeswehr.

The German army has already signed a contract with KNDS for the delivery of 123 Leopard 2A8s. Was. However, at that time only 18 weapons systems were ordered to compensate for the sale of Bundeswehr tanks to Ukraine. 35 Leopard tanks will be delivered to Lithuania by 2028 and the remaining 70 tanks by 2030. The Bundeswehr currently has about 310 Leopard tanks of various types. With the new systems, these tanks will increase by about a third.

According to these documents, the German Ministry of Finance emphasized that the costs of the tanks will not come from the special fund of 100 billion, nor from the annual budget of the Ministry of Defense, which was previously targeted. It was provided for 2025. Instead, a so-called commitment license must be issued. In this way, the German federal government guarantees that invoices will eventually be paid and orders can be launched for this purpose. Is. The Bundeswehr (German army) has always been under surveillance since the war in Ukraine. Recently, the German Ministry of Defense has revised the command structures of the army in order to raise the level of the army’s readiness for wartime due to the continuation of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

The German army, especially in the shadow of the war in Ukraine, is facing many problems, including the lack of equipment and personnel.

end of message/