Army Inspector Mais: “Special assets will not be enough”

Making the Bundeswehr fit – that is the goal of the 100 billion special fund. But that’s not enough for full equipment, says the army inspector. The Bundeswehr Association complains about sluggish modernization.

Against the background of the material deliveries to Ukraine, Army Inspector Alfons Mais sees great pressure for replenishment. The special fund of 100 billion euros that the Bundeswehr received last year is not enough for the full equipment.

But there is progress in the procurement process, said the lieutenant general of the dpa news agency. He sees “a great deal of pressure to move forward with the replacement purchases at the highest speed. We have not yet handed in the ‘Leopard’ tanks and are rightly already considering how we can replace them as quickly as possible.”

“It took a long time for the self-propelled howitzer and the rocket launchers, but there is now extremely high pressure on them,” added Mais. In addition to replacing material that was handed over to Ukraine, the “material growth towards full equipment” is important: “However, the special fund alone will not be enough for this.”

Troop stands behind arms deliveries

Immediately after the Russian attack on Ukraine, Mais criticized years of neglect in the Bundeswehr with unusual sharpness. The Bundeswehr was “more or less blank,” he wrote at the time, triggering discussions. “I try not to use the term blank anymore. That no longer does justice to the situation today, a year later,” said Mais. A lot has happened since then, and readiness for action should not be limited to the material: “Things are moving forward.”

He described the aid for Ukraine as a “huge effort, but it has to be done”. The troops know that, but ask about the future.

Pistorius wants to spend 30 billion by the end of the year

Meanwhile, Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) announced that procurement would be accelerated. By the end of the year he wants to spend 30 of the 100 billion euros, he told Deutschlandfunk. In the upcoming budget deliberations, he also wants to try to get an additional ten billion euros for the defense budget. Nevertheless, Germany will probably not meet the NATO target of spending two percent of gross domestic product on defense in 2024 either.

According to a NATO statement, Germany’s spending last year was just under 1.5 percent. Pistorius promoted long-term thinking: “Whether we can do it next year or not is not the central question,” he said. “We have to make sure that we achieve that on average over the next few years.”

Bundeswehr Association complains about sluggish modernization

This is also in the spirit of the head of the Bundeswehr Association, André Wüstner, who assumes a long conflict with Russia. “It would be naïve to believe that the war will be over this year,” he told the “Bild am Sonntag”. Domestically, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is preparing his people for a long-term “systemic conflict.” “NATO and Germany must strategically align for a decade of threat.”

Wüstner therefore urges the Bundeswehr to be equipped and upgraded more quickly: In its current state, it is neither fully operational nor ready to defend itself. The material deliveries to the Ukraine also created further gaps that have not yet been remotely closed, for example with the self-propelled howitzers. The 18 “Leopard 2” battle tanks would also have to be reordered quickly. “We must continue to support Ukraine and at the same time equip the Bundeswehr itself more quickly.” The modernization of the troops is proceeding too slowly, so far “nothing has noticeably improved” for the soldiers.