(Dec 9): German lawmakers are set to approve 29 military procurement contracts worth a record EUR52 billion next week, part of the government’s push to transform the Bundeswehr armed forces into Europe’s strongest conventional army.
The orders cover a wide range of materiel and services, including EUR22 billion for basic military gear and clothing, EUR4.2 billion for Puma infantry fighting vehicles, EUR3 billion for Arrow 3 air-defence interceptor missiles and launchers and EUR1.6 billion for surveillance satellites, according to people familiar with the planning.
It will mark both the largest number of big-ticket orders and the highest value of government contracts approved by the budget committee in the Bundestag lower house of parliament in a single closed-door session, said the people, who asked not to be identified ahead of an official announcement.
Spokespeople for the defence ministry in Berlin did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment outside regular business hours.
Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Germany set aside decades of fiscal restraint to fund the expansion of its neglected armed forces, channelling hundreds of billions of euros into strengthening defence readiness.
Dubbed by former Social Democrat Chancellor Olaf Scholz as a historic turning point, the military expansion has been expanded by his conservative successor Friedrich Merz, redrawing the security architecture in Europe.
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Merz addressed his pledge to make the Bundeswehr Europe’s strongest conventional army in a townhall meeting with citizens on Monday (Dec 8) evening broadcast live on public broadcaster ARD.
“It’s very simple. I repeat the same sentence over and over again: We want to be able to defend ourselves so that we never have to defend ourselves,” Merz said, drawing applause from the audience.
“The world around us has completely changed,” he added. “I want my children and my grandchildren and their generation to be able to continue to live in freedom and peace, and for that we have to be able to defend ourselves.”
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