A special, one-off German spend of $108 billion on new military equipment is expected to be approved Friday with U.S. manufacturers amongst those to benefit.
The plan – which falls outside Germany’s normal budget – was sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and will help Berlin honor its lagging NATO commitments.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s governing coalition announced its intentions to rearm on Feb. 27, three days after Russia began its offensive.
Announcing the move, Scholz said, “It’s clear we need to invest significantly more in the security of our country in order to protect our freedom and our democracy.”
Germany has often been criticized by the United States and other NATO allies for not investing enough in defense, a point former U.S. President Donald Trump was always keen to highlight.
Trump on Monday took credit for Germany finally meeting NATO’s defense spending requirement, after the country failed to fulfill its obligation for years. https://t.co/LBnxEDgbDK
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) March 1, 2022
The intention is for Germany to spend over two percent of its gross domestic product on defense — a NATO target. The government and the opposition agreed defense spending would meet the two percent target “on a multi-year average,” with help from the special fund.
AP reports officials acknowledge that the German military, the Bundeswehr, has for years suffered from neglect and in particular from aging, poorly functioning equipment.
Scholz’s center-left Social Democrats and the Union, which led the government for 16 years under ex-Chancellor Angela Merkel, have blamed each other for that even as NATO allies warned that Germany was falling behind in their commitments.
Britain Warns NATO Allies to Pay Their ‘Fair Share’ https://t.co/TqekzOWhRL pic.twitter.com/bIOYzT1bmy
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) November 12, 2016
Some details of how the money will be spent have emerged, according to AP.
The defense ministry says it will buy 60 Chinook CH-47F transport helicopters, made by Boeing. The government also wants to buy up to 35 Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets to replace aging Tornado aircraft.
The German government also wants to improve the general equipment of its troops, which have long suffered a litany of problems from missing night goggles or rifles to insufficient protective vests and defective training facilities.
Meanwhile, northern German shipyards are hoping to build five new corvettes, more frigates and several combat boats, as public broadcaster NDR reported. Some 60 percent of German army helicopters currently can’t fly, meaning there’s an urgent need for investment there as well.
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