The federal government pays for a large part of the supply of weapons from the factories.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz confirmed the goal of bringing defense spending to at least 2% of GDP, which he announced on the third day of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The chancellor reminded that his government allocated an additional package to the Bundeswehr in the amount of 100 billion euros. An important and difficult issue is the increase in the industrial production of weapons systems and ammunition.
“We must understand that for our security we must… establish the permanent production of the most important weapons and ammunition,” Scholz emphasized.
According to him, steps are already being taken to strengthen its defense capabilities, but also to increase aid to Ukraine. In particular, the production of ammunition for Gepard self-propelled guns, which was discontinued several decades ago, is being resumed. The same applies to ammunition for tanks, this issue is currently being discussed, Scholz emphasized.
According to Spiegel, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius considers it necessary to significantly increase funds for the supply of weapons to Ukraine. During the negotiations with the Ministry of Finance, the planners of the military department reported an acute additional need in the current budget. The so-called “upgrade” should grow from about two to almost six billion euros already in 2023.
The federal government pays for a large part of the supply of weapons from the factories, as well as the subsequent purchase of systems transferred from Bundeswehr warehouses. For example, the planned summer delivery of 300,000 ammunition for the Gepard anti-aircraft tank will cost a three-digit million sum.
Military aid from Germany: details
Germany has decided to resume the production of ammunition for Gepard anti-aircraft guns, which were previously transferred to Ukraine. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said this.
The spokeswoman of the Ministry of Defense in the capital of Germany said that the Bundeswehr has started training Ukrainian soldiers on Leopard-2 tanks.
Recently, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that he hopes for the West to supply Ukraine with 80 Leopard-2 tanks.
