After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, it is necessary for the German military to acquire modern hardware at “high speed”
A leader of the Social Democrats (SPD), the major party in Germany’s coalition government, has called on his country’s defense industry to increase directly its production potentialringing a “bell” about the lack of equipment in the Bundeswehr.
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, it is necessary for the German military to acquire modern equipment at “great speed”, he insisted.
According to Lars Klingbeil, co-chairman of the SPD, the impression that large amounts of material are available is wrong.
The equipment needed by the German army “must be produced”, Mr Klingbeil made clear speaking to public broadcaster ARD last Sunday night. He added that if the German arms industry, which has reduced production capacity in recent years, is unable to meet demand, the Bundeswehr will be forced to look abroad to meet its needs.
“It is clear that we need to equip the Bundeswehr quickly and well, and we must work on this at full speed.”
Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government recently decided to buy 20 billion euros worth of ammunition, both for the German military and for deployment in Ukraine. However, much of the German arms industry has shut down production lines in recent years due to a lack of orders. Talks are currently underway on how production can be expanded and accelerated.
In February, Mr Scholz announced a huge increase in German military spending, which will now exceed 2% of Germany’s GDP, but German officers complain that the disbursement of funds is delayed.
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