Status: 11/25/2022 5:20 p.m
The Bundeswehr gets more money through the special fund. However, the acute lack of ammunition is less related to money and more to the fact that ammunition is currently difficult to obtain. A meeting in the Chancellery should help.
Because the Bundeswehr is currently lacking ammunition, the Chancellery wants to discuss a solution to the problem with experts from the defense industry on Monday. This was announced by deputy government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann: “There will be talks with selected representatives of the armaments industry at official level.” Hoffmann contradicted reports that there would be a “munitions summit”.
Austerity measures in the Bundeswehr led to shortages
The Bundeswehr has a dramatic lack of ammunition. It came about because too little ammunition was ordered for years. The result of the austerity course: German industry had reduced its capacities or stopped production. She earns mainly from arms exports, less from orders for the Bundeswehr.
Now the demand for ammunition has increased again – for example from the ranks of the allies. Slow buyers therefore have to queue at the back.
discussions with the industry
When dealing with the crisis, the upcoming meeting in the Chancellery should therefore discuss with industry how production can be expanded and accelerated – also for the benefit of the Bundeswehr. Most recently, the federal government had declared that Germany would have to buy ammunition for 20 billion euros.
Structural problems in ammunition procurement
When procuring ammunition, the State Secretary and department heads would also have to solve extensive structural problems, as reported by the digital media company “Table.Media”. Otherwise, the ammunition requirement could not be covered for years.
The report says: “According to experts from the defense technology industry, many powder and explosives producers from which German ammunition manufacturers have previously bought are directly or indirectly in Chinese hands.”
According to the report, these companies have not supplied western ammunition manufacturers for a good six months. This shrinks the market, increases delivery times and makes the products more expensive.
The report also makes the following calculations for the Ukraine war: “On some days of the war, Russia fired 60,000 and Ukraine 20,000 artillery shells. For the Bundeswehr it would have been all over in one day.”
Criticism of dealing with the shortage for a long time
The Union had accused Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) of making little progress with the purchase of new weapons and equipment despite the 100 billion euro special pot. The turning point proclaimed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) on February 27 “is not taking place,” said Union parliamentary group leader Johann Wadephul in the Bundestag. Lambrecht seems haphazard in day-to-day business and overwhelmed with conceptual tasks. He assessed the ammunition stocks of the Bundeswehr as “catastrophic”.
The artillery troop is basically without ammunition and can no longer practice live shooting at all.
Ammunition crisis becomes a top priority
The defense policy spokesman for the Union faction, Florian Hahn, told the dpa news agency that it was good that the Chancellor was finally making ammunition a top priority. “Ms. Lambrecht is not up to this challenge,” he said. And: “No more time can be wasted on this issue, which is vital for survival and decisive for the war.”
Defense Commissioner Högl also dissatisfied
Dissatisfaction with the situation was also voiced by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces, Eva Högl. “None of this is going fast enough for me either – especially when it comes to personal equipment. But with heavy weapon systems in particular, it simply takes time for systems to be ordered, built, delivered and introduced,” she told Die Zeit. The fact that protective vests and backpacks that have been ordered should arrive by 2025 is “really fast” for the Bundeswehr. She said: “Unfortunately, there is sometimes indifference and disinterest among the responsible officials in the Bundeswehr: we don’t have it, be patient, it won’t be that important, we’ll send it afterwards, the soldiers hear things like that all the time.”
Some soldiers therefore buy the equipment privately at their own expense.
Months ago, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP), Chairwoman of the Defense Committee, called for a top group of politicians and armaments industry. She had also called for the appointment of a central coordinator for Ukraine aid and armaments procurement.