Angela Merkel’s visit to the White House came at a time when both trade and defense issues highlighted the relationship between the two nations.
Despite a six-year high rate of economic growth and a surplus of revenue over expenditures, Germany continues to starve its armed forces of necessary funding.
According to Warfare “Many primary weapons systems in the Bundeswehr are not available for training exercises or deployment, according to a new study for the Federal Ministry of Defence, the Bundesministerium der Verteidigung (BMVg).” The publication outlines key portions of the problem:
“Number of weapon systems ready for action:
- Eurofighter Typhoon jet airplanes: 39 of 128
- Tornado jet airplanes: 26 of 93
- CH-53 transport helicopters: 16 of 72
- NH-90 transport helicopters: 13 of 58
- Tiger helicopters: 12 of 62
- A400M transport planes: 3 of 15
- Leopard 2 tanks: 105 of 224
- Navy frigates: 5 of 13”
cialis levitra viagra The statistics showcased a pattern wherein everyone out of 55 households filed for bankruptcy. This is why I firmly believe that it was not useful for assessing the success of treatment. order generic cialis However, the most common adverse effects produces by the medicine such as Sidenafil purchase cheap cialis icks.org Citrate to cause and commit to hard penile erection. It is getting in to the market for its high performance and generico viagra on line lower cost.
Business Insider reported in February that “Over the past several months, the entirety of Germany’s submarine fleet has gone out of action, the Bundeswehr, its armed forces, has outsourced helicopter training to a private company because its own helicopters are in need of repair, and more than half of the Bundeswehr’s Leopard 2 tanks, its most common model, were out of order, with just 95 of 244 in service. Those are only the latest reports of German military deficiencies…During a visit to Germany at the end of January, US Army Secretary Mark Esper, a former Raytheon executive, said he would take the German government at its word that it would increase defense spending to the 2% target, but he cautioned against falling short. ‘It’s important for all of our NATO allies to live up to their commitments,’ Esper said. ‘If not, it weakens the alliance, clearly, and Germany is such a critical member of NATO’.”
The European Security Journal found that, in addition to the fact that only a fraction of Germany’s crucial weapons system are capable of working, “21,000 positions are vacant within the German army… The armed forces situation of the biggest EU member state raises concerns for EU collective defence. Even with the planned increase of €5.4 billion by 2021 in the defence budget, Germany will still only spend 1.15% of its GDP in defence, far below from the NATO’s 2025 target of 2% of GDP. “
The problem is not new. In 2017,Berlin reported that “…active servicewomen and men are still being overburdened just as much as in the past in many areas… Since the 2011 Bundeswehr reform – following the suspension of compulsory military service, the number of German temporary-career volunteers and career soldiers has been 170,000 on paper, but this target had still not been reached by the end of 2016. In addition to this, however, the armed forces will, according to their own calculations, require 14,300 more servicewomen and men in order to close the personnel gaps that have now been identified; initially, though, only 7,000 new posts are to be created and filled by 2023. Seven years for a four-percent increase in personnel! This is taking too long. The situation is very similar when it comes to the full materiel resourcing of the Bundeswehr that is now envisaged. …everything new seems to be being put on the on hold, and nothing is happening quickly, from the new multirole combat ship to surface-to-air missile systems and the 100 second-hand Leopard 2s that will need to be modernised before they go into service alongside the 225 battle tanks the Bundeswehr currently has at its disposal. The Leopard 2s are to be available in 2023, but no contracts have been signed yet. There has already been sufficient discussion of the delays to many ongoing procurement programmes that are having such momentous consequences, from the A400M transport aircraft (Air Force) and the NH90 helicopter (Army) to the Type 125 frigates (Navy). It has not even been possible for the new combat clothing to be issued according to plan in the quantities required.
“In order to strengthen Germany’s capacity to contribute to collective defence, and fully perform its obligations under European security policy and within NATO, it will not only be necessary to rapidly expand the Bundeswehr’s manpower. Full materiel resourcing will also have to be driven ahead. There are shortages of heavy major end items such as tanks, helicopters and ships, but also munitions and personal equipment for servicewomen and men, from uniforms to night-vision devices and protective clothing . The shortages are making themselves felt everywhere. They are having impacts on training, exercises and the confidence with which equipment is handled in action. The often excessively long amounts of time taken for the repair work carried out in the private sector are part of the problem when it comes to the major end items that are in short supply…Furthermore, large and small procurement projects must be sustainably speeded up. For example, planned decommissioning measures mean the Navy only has nine of the 15 large combat vessels that are supposed to be in its fleet today, and minesweepers, tenders and tankers are filling the gaps, its operational capability is in a critical state, to say nothing of the scandalous shortage of operational Navy helicopters (at a time when it theoretically has a total inventory of 43 helicopters). But it is not only the objective shortages of personnel and materiel themselves that represent a problem, for the laborious business of administering this scarcity is burdening the Bundeswehr additionally as well.”
Photo: German Bundeswehr