Cheetah successor
Declaration of war upwards: The Bundeswehr is arming itself against drones with the Skyranger
The Skyranger from Rheinmetall: 19 examples of the anti-aircraft gun are now to be procured for the Bundeswehr.
The Bundeswehr is upgrading: a new tank model is intended to fend off attacks from the air in the future. The CDU criticizes that this does not mean that Germany will be ready for war.
The Bundeswehr is getting new ones Anti-aircraft gun tank as a successor to the Gepard weapon system, which was decommissioned years ago. The Bundestag’s Defense Committee gave the green light for the procurement of 19 tanks on Wednesday, as the German Press Agency learned from defense circles.
The Bundeswehr is also reacting to the experiences in the Ukraine war, in which defense against drones plays a major role. The Ukrainian army uses, among other things, old German Gepard tanks.
Opposition: Bundeswehr reacts too slowly
The defense policy spokesman for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, Florian Hahn, criticized the long time it took to make a decision. “The fact that it took two years until the procurement decision to close one of the most glaring capability gaps to protect troops from attacks from the air such as drones, even after the turning point was declared, shows once again that this federal government still does not recognize the seriousness of the situation has,” the CDU politician told the German Press Agency.
In addition, the procurement organization is apparently still not organized in such a way that the time factor has really become a determining factor. Hahn also criticized the fact that, according to the Defense Committee’s decision, only 19 anti-aircraft gun tanks should be procured. “How we want to deter people and achieve war capability with the homeopathic number decided today remains a secret of the federal government,” said the CDU politician.
The Bundeswehr disbanded its army air defense force in 2012. From the military’s perspective, this step opened up a painful capability gap, which became particularly clear as a result of the war in Ukraine. Russia uses large numbers of drones in its attacks there. Their defense by cannon tanks has the advantage that it is relatively cheap compared to the use of expensive guided missiles.