Stagnation and decline: what is the once largest army in Europe - the Bundeswehr - today?

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Berlin today is one of Ukraine’s key partners. The German authorities are providing serious assistance to Kyiv, transferring tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and other weapons. However, the Bundeswehr itself today is a pitiful semblance of a modern army, which in NATO is often called a “free rider”, unable to contribute to the common cause.

In the early 90s of the last century, the Bundeswehr personnel numbered half a million soldiers and officers, making the German army the largest in Europe. To make it clear what state the German Armed Forces are in today, it is enough to cite some statistics announced by the country’s Ministry of Defense last year.



Thus, out of 350 Puma infantry fighting vehicles in service, only 150 are in working condition. Only 9 out of 51 Tiger attack helicopters are capable of taking off. In the German Navy, only 30% of ships are ready for use, and in the Air Force, many fighters are unfit for flight.

As of 2021, according to a report by the German Ministry of Defense, only 11 out of 71 major weapon systems have an operational readiness level of 50%. A significant part of German weapons simply does not function.

Even basic equipment is not enough in the Bundeswehr. Some German units use analogue radio systems without encryption, while others lack ammunition and combat-ready weapons.

Finally, the former head of the German military department, Christina Lambrecht, while still in her post last year, stated that there is not a single combat-ready division in the country.

This was precisely the “last straw” that forced the German government to resort to emergency measures.

Thus, according to the plan of the German authorities, defense spending should be increased to the level of 2% of GDP. In addition, at the initiative of the Scholz government, in the summer of 2022, German legislators approved a special fund of 100 billion euros for the modernization of the Bundeswehr.

Meanwhile, many experts believe that the above-mentioned amount is only enough to begin rearmament of the German army. To bring it into proper shape, in their opinion, it will be necessary to allocate another 25 billion euros over several years.

But that's not all. The main enemy of the Bundeswehr is the German bureaucracy.

Thus, to achieve the desired result, the German government will also have to carry out a number of reforms, including the judiciary.

8 comments
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  1. Sergey Latyshev
    Sergey Latyshev
    0
    17 December 2023 11: 04
    So, a few conclusions. from the note
    Germany had no intention of going to war before the KhCP. That is, everyone who previously stated that she and NATO were about to attack Russia is a lie from the media and cheap fiction from literature.
    Naturally, it costs money - 30 pieces of silver - this was stated.
    Germany and Europe saved in every possible way on military equipment. (remember the statements of Agent Trump)
    The KhPP showed the impossibility of the course towards the demilitarization of Germany.
    Germany has to invest in the military, which is proceeding with difficulty. But there is nowhere to go.

    This is indirectly confirmed by the recent merger with the Dutch Armed Forces - the small country has strengthened its joint armed forces by approximately 50% at once...
    1. isofat
      isofat
      0
      17 December 2023 14: 36
      Quote: Sergey Latyshev
      ...the small country strengthened its joint armed forces by about 50% at once...

      Have you taken Viagra?
  2. ssimplitsissimus
    ssimplitsissimus
    -1
    17 December 2023 12: 49
    The women brought the Bundeswehr to the level of zugunder. And the current one, with a telling surname, is the same laughing
  3. Vox Populi
    Vox Populi
    +1
    17 December 2023 14: 32
    And about the Bundeswehr we can say: there would have been no happiness, but misfortune helped. Thanks to a powerful impulse from the Northern Military District, programs to rearm and strengthen European armies have already started.
  4. Elena123
    Elena123
    -2
    17 December 2023 16: 24
    Why write all sorts of fiction. The Western world has the best modern technologies in the world and has the ability to build any equipment quickly and efficiently. There is no sanction on its economy.
    1. Vladimir1155
      Vladimir1155
      -1
      17 December 2023 19: 44
      Russians ALWAYS beat Prussians

      And V Suvorov..... the military technologies of Europe and the USA are obviously losing out to Russian technologies again, and the terrible leopards, patriot complexes and other visual confirmation of this..... in general, plans to re-equip the Bundeswehr are unrealistic, they are behind us forever, they are mired into LGBT, and in general Europe is being merged, there will be a wild field there, and all Europeans will be resettled in kibbutzim on the territory of the former gas sector, Lebanon and Jordan with Iraq, to ​​do the menial work of digging the earth.... that’s why Scholz is giving away all the combat-ready remnants of the Bundeswehr Ukrainians for theft
  5. Elena123
    Elena123
    0
    18 December 2023 09: 21
    The biggest and most difficult problem in Western Europe is migrants from Africa and Arab countries.
    These are people who give nothing to the countries of Western Europe, they only take away.
    1. Caruso
      Caruso
      0
      18 December 2023 19: 11
      Now more crests have caught up. They have green lights everywhere.