As part of the “turning point”, Bundeswehr vehicles were to be equipped with digital radio devices – for 1.3 billion euros. But there are many unsolved problems. And time is running out.
It sounds like an expensive prank again: The Bundeswehr has ordered digital radio devices from a German manufacturer for 1.3 billion euros, but there are apparently problems installing them in tanks, combat vehicles and trucks. That’s what SPD man Andreas Schwarz, who is responsible for defense in the Bundestag budget committee, says.
One of the problems is that at the moment there is no guarantee that the devices can even be installed in the vehicles. There are up to 200 different models, where it must first be clear how and where the device can be installed. “And how is assembly organized for at least 13,000 vehicles?” asks Schwarz.
Lots of open questions
The quick installation of the radios in the Bundeswehr vehicles is not the only problem. The newspaper “Die Welt” reports that it is also about insufficient battery capacity and alternators that are too small.
Here too, SPD MP Schwarz has questions: “Is the energy supply in the vehicles sufficient to supply the radio with energy?” There are uncertainties – or it could be that vehicles still have to be converted to ensure the energy supply. “Well, you can see there’s still a bit of homework to do,” said Schwarz.
Confederation is in the word at NATO
The new digital radio devices for the Bundeswehr should be installed in the vehicles by 2025. After all, NATO is committed to providing a fully operational army division. They should be able to communicate with the other NATO partners via digital radio, but that might not work with the devices they purchased, fears Green Party budget politician Sebastian Schäfer. The situation where you have to borrow material from friendly NATO countries could last for years.
In Lithuania, for example, radio equipment is currently having to be laboriously organized so that communication with NATO partners is possible. “These are untenable conditions,” says Schäfer, “and the implementation of the ‘turning point’ is elementary and is now failing again at a fundamental point.”
Pistorius strongly disagrees
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) is currently on a business trip to the Baltics. In the Latvian capital Riga he at least admitted that radio equipment installation was behind schedule.
Yes, there is a delay. We are currently working on where it comes from. But it is not one that questions procurement as such, not even remotely. So when I read ‘Wrong radio equipment purchased’, the message couldn’t be more wrong.
Radios are off the agenda
For Bundestag members Schwarz and Schäfer, the billion-dollar radio case is more than annoying. In December 2022 – still under Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht – the contract was concluded in an expedited manner.
The purchase of the radios was questioned, says Green Party budget expert Schäfer: “We have repeatedly blocked funds, but so far we have not been properly informed,” he says. “And now the drama of the situation is becoming clear.”
For the next budget meeting on Wednesday, MPs have removed the item “Digital radios for the Bundeswehr” from the agenda. It should be clarified first before further money is invested in the project.