Berlin's Billions Are Laying the Foundation for Stronger German Defense

摘要

Berlin has begun splashing out the cash for its long-promised defense modernization. Germany looks set to be one of the biggest spenders on new defense equipment in Europe during 2021. It signed contracts in the final months of 2019 worth around €10 billion (now $12.1 billion), covering the purchase of a new batch of Eurofighters and the retrofit of electronically scanned radars for earlier models of the same aircraft, as well as for a new fleet of NH90 rotorcraft for anti-submarine warfare (ASW). There is no doubt the COVID-19 pandemic has played a part in this buildup, as many of the orders will help support critically important German aerospace jobs and skills at a time when the commercial market is depressed, but it also appears to be marking a step in a new direction. Previous administrations have been salami-slicing the country's defense budget since the end of the Cold War, a policy that Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer says was a mistake that has "hit the armed forces to the core." "This must not be repeated," she insists. Budgets are growing. Berlin plans to spend €46.8 billion on defense in 2021, €1.2 billion more than in 2020. These increases have allowed the modernization to move ahead and boosted the availability of key equipment, an issue that had caused widespread embarrassment and led to questions about whether Germany could be a reliable ally. But the defense budget is still significantly short of the oft-criticized 2% of GDP requested by NATO and pledged by neighboring countries.