“First the Puma, then the Howitzer” from December 21, “The Mishaps of the ‘Puma'” of December 20, comment “Out of Action” 17 December, interview “Conditionally defensive” from December 10 and “Fighter Jet Crisis Session” from December 6th:
Booming armaments industry
If I want to know whether I’m totally healthy or whether I have a “deviating value”, I go to the doctor. And he’s sure to find something that deviates from the norm unless he’s utterly incompetent. If someone wants to know something about the state of the army, especially with the question of whether something is “missing” there – also the SZ – goes to a high-ranking military or – even better – to a tank supplier. The answers that Mr. Haun gives are as surprising as those of a mobile phone salesman to the customer’s question as to whether the phone, which is now “over a year old”, still meets the requirements.
How “neutral” and “unprejudiced” Mr. Haun sees this can be seen, for example, from the assessment of the tank howitzer manufactured by his company RCH 155 read: “leap innovation” and “game changer”. Am I to interpret this 63-year-old’s words as meaning that he sees the war as a “game”?
If I, as a reader, could give the journalists a recommendation, it would be interviews with former and current leaders in the Bundeswehr and ministerial bureaucracy with the specific question: “What did you do with the many billions? And why can other armies in Europe with comparable buzz so much more?”
I’m sure that 100 billion is just the beginning and that even 3 or 4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) will not be enough. Is the fault due to a lack of armaments (2021: NATO around 1.2 trillion US dollars, Russia around 70 billion US dollars) – or were mistakes made when dealing with Russia?
Neither an arms lobbyist nor a member of the military can answer these questions because their answer as to whether we have enough or the right killing material will always be the same. And in politics someone has to be very brave at the moment if they even try to slow down the new arms race that is already clearly emerging.
I can’t remember a time when the defense industry was doing really badly. If there’s war, you need them, if there’s no war, also because it has to be prevented. But have guns ever prevented violence?
No, Mr. Haun doesn’t have to worry. His trade is the oldest in the world – next to that of the gravedigger. And in times that have “turned” so that debt equals wealth, the market will continue to grow.
Thomas Spiewok, Hanau
Nothing new on the Hardthöhe
The traffic light has now been in office for almost a year. Since then, the SPD has taken every opportunity to lament what the previous government failed to do or screwed up. It is true that the Union has eliminated the Bundeswehr in 16 years, albeit with the unanimous assistance of the SPD, which of course no longer wants to hear about it today and acts as if it had not provided the vice chancellor of the government for more than a decade now responsible for all mistakes and omissions. But that’s not all. The SPD brazenly claims that, in 16 years, it would have bumped into Merkel’s arm often enough to prevent the worst from happening. In the past year, this glorified view has given way to a certain clarity when one takes stock of what the SPD Minister Lambrecht has achieved on the Hardthöhe: nothing.
The SPD’s military commissioner, Högl, felt compelled to say that the fact that people were sitting down at the end of November to finally develop a roadmap for remedying the Bundeswehr’s ammunition deficits was a great step forward. The problem is said to have reached the Chancellery in the meantime. Nevertheless, Ms. Lambrecht only planned a symbolic 1.1 billion euros for ammunition procurement in the regular defense budget, 25 to 30 billion would be necessary for the Bundeswehr to be able to fulfill its obligations in the alliance and the national defense to some extent. Despite this, Mrs. Lambrecht has not earmarked a cent for ammunition procurement from the 100 billion special funds for the modernization of the Bundeswehr. SPD leader Klingbeil blames the armaments industry, which failed to build up capacities for this. The fact is, however, that in 2022, despite the special fund, almost no new orders were received from the defense industry.
This is due to three things. On the one hand, there is a lack of political will, both in the Chancellery and at Hardthöhe, to spend enough money on upgrading the Bundeswehr. At 1.6 percent, the defense budget will fall below the promised two percent of gross domestic product (GDP) next year. On the other hand, the bureaucratic processes in the Bundeswehr Procurement Office in Koblenz are still endless. Minor streamlining of approval procedures is by far not enough to help the overloaded office become more efficient. And thirdly, it is becoming increasingly clear that the minister, who is a stranger to her job, is overwhelmed. Seen in this way, Mrs. Lambrecht continues the tradition of incompetent ministers who have been dabbling in the Ministry of Defense since Leber and Struck.
Josef Geier, Eging am See
underqualified ministers
The problem with the infantry fighting vehicle puma is also likely to be related to the lack of professional qualifications of the defense ministers in recent decades. In contrast, the US chief of staff is a retired four-star general with war experience. He has also held various board positions in companies and also has board experience in the defense industry. He should be able to realistically assess the demands of the troops and mistakes made by companies and react accordingly. The fiasco at puma and other embarrassments would in all likelihood have been absent from a secretary of defense of this qualification. Johann Rentz, Waging am See
Buying “F 35” jets is wrong
In my opinion, Germany needs to act quickly in the climate crisis. What Germany doesn’t need now is a senseless waste of money for nuclear-armed fighter jets. Our future lies in a world without nuclear weapons. The purchase of nuclear bombers for ten billion euros is a step in the wrong direction. When I then read that the project is full of risks – higher acquisition costs, additional costs for the conversion of Büchel Airport and uncertain approval of the f 35-Jets in Germany – my last hair stands on end. No one would pay for such an “investment” full of risks out of their own pocket. But it’s only tax money!
Before even one more euro is spent on the Bundeswehr – even if it is for allegedly not enough underwear – the procurement policy and the organization of procurement urgently need to be fundamentally reformed. Old Court of Auditors reports speak volumes about the billions in public money wasted in the Bundeswehr.
Karl Amannsberger, Berlin
Wrong tactic
It’s good when the Department of Defense cuts back instead of throwing out a lot of money without thinking. When authorities suddenly have too much money, they easily fritter it away. This is what happened when buying a mask; this must not be repeated when purchasing armaments. So can the Lockheed f 35 (at a unit price of 30 million euros) only fly 1100 kilometers, so it needs a risky air refueling to fly from the Büchel location to the center of Belarus, 1500 kilometers away. If nuclear participation is already considered important, it makes more sense to purchase unmanned cruise missiles at a price of half a million to a million. For actual national defense you need armor-piercing and anti-aircraft weapons, not tanks and planes, but it’s hard to get rid of 100 billion with such anti-aircraft weapons.
Wolfgang Maucksch, Herrieden
Menacing affair
What I consider to be a very unfortunate lack of ammunition in the Bundeswehr is certainly of the quality to trigger another “mirror affair” after more than sixty years, but with the difference that this time there are more facts on the table. I’ll spare myself the blame here. Discussing or even speaking out about these – they certainly went nowhere anyway. Higher-ranking people may try here. Personally, however, I take the position that, especially with regard to the current situation, which is unfortunately rather unstable, not to say tense, the bringing about or even tolerating of the serious ammunition shortage in the Bundeswehr, which has apparently existed for some time, borders on high treason and must be punished accordingly. Based on the life experiences I have gained with governments and administrations over the past 90 years, I tend to assume that not much will happen on this level.
Berthold Reidel, Munich
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