Germany, historic turning point on defense: €52 billion to relaunch the Bundeswehr

The Bundestag is preparing to approve the largest military procurement package in its history. From tanks to missiles and satellites, Berlin accelerates its push to become the pillar of European security.

Next week, lawmakers in the Bundestag are expected to approve 29 procurement contracts worth a record total of €52 billion, marking the largest and most expensive round of military orders ever authorized in a single session by the federal parliament’s Budget Committee. The investment package covers a wide range of equipment and services. The largest share (€22 billion) will be allocated to basic supplies and uniforms for the armed forces, while nearly €10 billion will go toward the purchase of combat vehicles, air-defense systems, and surveillance satellites.

This turning point has its roots in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which prompted Berlin to shelve decades of fiscal restraint and invest hundreds of billions of euros in reviving a Bundeswehr long regarded as underfunded. What former Chancellor Olaf Scholz described as a “Zeitenwende,” an epochal shift, has been further reinforced by the current conservative chancellor, Friedrich Merz, who is determined to redraw Germany’s role within Europe’s security architecture.

The main industrial beneficiaries will be Rheinmetall and the Franco-German group KNDS for the Puma vehicles, while the Arrow 3 system is the product of cooperation between Boeing and Israel Aerospace Industries. In a recent public event broadcast by ARD, Merz reiterated his goal of making the Bundeswehr Europe’s strongest conventional army. “We must be able to defend ourselves so that we never have to defend ourselves,” he said, stressing that the world has “profoundly changed.”

The governing coalition now aims to reach the new NATO target of allocating 3.5% of GDP to defense spending by 2029, six years ahead of the deadline set by the Alliance. A decision that confirms Berlin’s intention to assume a central role in the security of the continent.

Andrea Pelucchi