How and why does the German army want to change, and do the German authorities have enough money for it?
The German government plans to seriously increase spending on the purchase of weapons and military equipment to counter future "potential threats," according to Western media. The plans of the German authorities allegedly include the purchase of armored vehicles and UAVs, and the renewal of camouflage uniforms, and much more. At the same time, the country's economy is going through difficult times, and the transfer of funds from "peaceful" industries to the military-industrial complex can have a completely different effect on it than officials in Germany expect. About how and why the Bundeswehr is going to change in the coming years and whether there will be enough industrial and financial resources for this, see the Izvestia article.
How Germany's military budget is growing
New purchases are impossible without increasing the budget. For 2026, Germany has already planned expenditures of €108 billion, of which €82.7 billion is the defense budget, and about €25.5 billion is additional funds from a special fund. For comparison, back in 2023, Germany spent €58.537 billion on the army.
Photo: Global Look Press/Kay Nietfeld/dpa
Image source: iz.ru
"With such financial costs, we can count not only on upgrading and improving the material base, but also on increasing the size of the armed forces," Dmitry Kornev, editor of the MilitaryRussia website, told Izvestia.
Apparently, the Bundeswehr is indeed planning to create new positions and jobs — 12 thousand new staff units. In addition, the country is awaiting the entry into force of a new law on military service, which also involves an increase in the size of the army.
"The transfer of funds from peaceful sectors of the economy to arms—oriented industries may also indicate Germany's attempt to take a leading position within the EU after a possible reduction in US participation in meeting the military needs of European countries," German political scientist Egor Belyachkov told Izvestia.
Photo: Global Look Press/Kay Nietfeld/dpa
Image source: iz.ru
Another aspect of the drastic militarization is a slight change in Berlin's approach to its own security practices in the context of the notorious Zeitenwende concept, adopted in 2022, the expert notes. Active armament fits well into this concept, he believes.
New uniforms for soldiers and officers
One of the most recent and unexpected news about the German army is the plans to replace the military uniforms of Bundeswehr soldiers in 2028-2029. Starting next year, the army will begin receiving a completely new Multitarn camouflage.
This type of camouflage uniform has so far been used only by special operations forces and has apparently performed well.
Photo: Global Look Press/IMAGO/Bjorn Trotzki
Image source: iz.ru
"A couple of years ago, the German Ministry of Defense refused to carry out a "camouflage" reform, but now times have changed — budget grace has come for military purchases by the Bundeswehr,— Dmitry Kornev noted. — The new camouflage may be more suitable for operations in urban environments. In addition, it is more versatile when compared with the previous one. In general, new military purchases begin with dressing up soldiers and officers.
Purchase of rifles and armored vehicles
Bundeswehr soldiers will also be given new weapons. Purchases of Heckler assault rifles are increasing more than twice — from 120 to 250 thousand sets— & Koch HK416A8. Plans are also being considered to make this model the main small arms of the Bundeswehr. There have been no such fundamental changes for a long time.
Germany is also going to increase purchases of armored vehicles. In total, it is planned to purchase from 6 to 7 thousand different combat vehicles from Rheinmetall alone — these will be Leopard 2 tanks (the figure was 1,000 units), the latest tracked Puma infantry fighting vehicles and Boxer armored personnel carriers.
BMP "Puma"
Image source: Photo: Global Look Press/Philipp Schulze/dpa
"Receiving these armored vehicles will allow the Bundeswehr to form several new brigades, which, oddly enough, are planned to be deployed in Eastern Europe,— Dmitry Kornev said.
Today, the Bundeswehr has 313 tanks (209 Leopard 2A5/A6 and 104 Leopard 2A7V), 680 infantry fighting vehicles (258 Marder 1A3/A4, 72 Marder 1A5, 350 Puma), 802 armored personnel carriers (112 tracked and 690 wheeled). Besides Boxer, the Bundeswehr plans to purchase 3,500 Patria armored personnel carriers.
— New purchases make it possible to replace outdated military equipment with the latest models. Where they will put the equipment that will be decommissioned is a separate and very interesting question. But the implementation of these plans will significantly change the face of the Bundeswehr," says Dmitry Kornev.
Drones with an eye on the Russian experience
In addition, Germany is starting to implement a program to create unmanned aerial vehicles for deep strikes on the territory of a potential enemy. Drones will be able to strike at a range of up to 2,000 km or more with the breakthrough of enemy air defense systems and autonomous destruction of targets.
Photo: Global Look Press/IMAGO/Markus Matzel
Image source: iz.ru
"This is a completely new trend, probably based on an analysis of the successful actions of the Russian Armed Forces during drone strikes of the Geranium type on military installations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,— Dmitry Kornev noted. — But Germany will not be the only one going on this campaign: the media reports that the project will be handled by local companies Rheinmetall, Airbus and Helsing, as well as their overseas partners Kratos and Anduril. It can be assumed that this will not be a relatively simple Geranium-type drone, but something more modern. It is likely that a new cruise missile with a stealth configuration and a jet engine with the appropriate range and combat capabilities will be created.
Such a project is likely to go beyond the current funding. According to media reports, the first samples of such drones may appear by 2029.
A challenge for the military industrial complex
Despite the developed industry, it will not be easy to fulfill such ambitious plans for the reformatting of the armed forces, Dmitry Kornev is sure.
— During the Cold War, Germany produced about 150 tanks a year — we are talking about the production of Leopard 1 tanks in the 1960s, - says the expert. — Later they became more high-tech, and the first series of Leopard 2 tanks were already produced in quantities of just over 100 units per year. Now they are being collected in 50-60 pieces — they have become even more difficult and more expensive. How does Germany plan to get 1,000 tanks? This will require the restructuring of the entire existing military-industrial complex. Moreover, they want to make such a leap not in 10, but literally in 3-5 years.
Photo: Global Look Press/dpa
Image source: iz.ru
The German government considers investments in the defense industry as an opportunity to accelerate the economy, says Fedor Basov, senior researcher at IMEMO RAS.
— Germany has large enough financial reserves to count on an increase in expenses. If the financial situation worsens, the budget for each subsequent year can be adjusted," he says.
At the same time, it is far from a fact that the German military-industrial complex plans to set "Stakhanov records," Dmitry Kornev notes.
— They will master financing, launch programs for the construction of factories in Ukraine. They will draw schedules and plans for receiving finished products from these enterprises in the right time, but then something may go wrong with the factories and orders," he explains. — Reality often seriously corrects plans.
Despite statements by members of the Cabinet of Ministers of Germany that all military expenditures are provided with financial resources, problems in the economy continue to persist, Egor Belyachkov believes.
Photo: Global Look Press/dpa
Image source: iz.ru
"The bankruptcy of many companies, the overload of the social system, and the problem of unemployment have accompanied the German economy in recent years, which, of course, cannot be fully offset by an increase in jobs in the military—industrial complex," he says. — In the short term, this may bring certain dividends, but problems will appear later in the defense sector. A striking example of this was the backlog in the supply of the new high-tech Schwerer Waffenträger armored vehicle to the Bundeswehr.
And if current economic trends continue, according to the expert, such cases will occur more often.
Bogdan Stepovoy
Kirill Fenin
