Fully rearming Germany could take up to a century if the country continues with its current rate of military production, a report has found.
Researchers at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (ifw-Kiel) found it may take until the 2120s before the country’s armed forces could be considered at a similar or better level than in 2004.
According to a report published on September 10, many of the issues surrounded what it called Germany’s slow acquisition of artillery, with the research predicting it would not be until 2121 that the Bundeswehr would have the same level of equipment as 20 years ago.
Things also looked bad on the armoured vehicle front, with ifw-Kiel predicting that it would take until 2066 for the country to return to 2004 levels for main battle tanks (MBTs), and 2043 for Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs). Germany’s full 2004 contingent of fighter aircraft is expected to be restored by 2038.
Experts are now urging Berlin to put in place a plan for a sustained increase in military spending over the long-term, warning that as Germany struggled to restore its military, Russia was accelerating its production of munitions.
The report in particular highlighted Moscow’s increased production of “modern combat systems” such as drones, while its output of more traditional munitions, including MBTs, has also risen.
Overall, it warned that Russia was currently producing enough to sustainably fire 10,000 rounds of ammunition and explosive per day, a rate that would totally wipe out German supplies in just 70 days.
Fixing the problems with Germany’s eco-friendly Infantry Fighting Vehicle will cost billions of euros, the country’s government has admitted. https://t.co/bN37WCSKdb
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) September 9, 2024
“[Russian] Production capacities are now so large that they can produce the entire stock of the Bundeswehr in just over half a year,” the report said.
“Since the attack on Ukraine, Russia has been able to significantly increase its production capacities for important weapons systems, for example doubling its long-range air defence system and tripling its production capacities for tanks.”
Speaking on the findings, lead author Guntram Wolff warned that a failure to increase German military production would put all of Europe at risk.
“Russia is becoming an ever greater security threat to NATO. At the same time, we are making very slow progress with the rearmament necessary for deterrence,” he said.
“What Europe needs now … is a permanent, significant and immediate increase in regular German defence spending to at least 2 per cent of GDP.
“It must be said clearly: Continuing as before would be negligent and irresponsible in view of Russia’s aggression,” he added.
Voting populist in Europe? We are all a bit East German now, writes @henryolsenEPPC.
Read the full comment 👉🏽 https://t.co/vPJLq8x5yI #Germany #elections #Saxony #Thuringia pic.twitter.com/ATB8ke8MZs
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) September 5, 2024
