Less than half of Germany’s tanks are working

German tanks are in a terrible condition, according to Janes:

German media reported on 16 November that only 95 of the 244 Leopard 2 main battle tanks (MBTs) in service with the Bundeswehr are operationally ready. A further 53 vehicles – thought to be Leopard 2A6Ms – are being converted to the new Leopard 2A6M+ standard, and 86 are in a state of disrepair without any spare parts. The German report states that “the unavailability of the required replacement parts would be detrimental”.

Apparently the German system cannot handle the increased exercise intensity that has developed over the last few years. And that has led to concerns as to how long the German logistics system could function in case of a real conflict.

Janes mentions that there was a similar predicament in August when German forces in Mali suffered from a lack of spare parts. I might add the ridiculous lack of spare parts that left all of Germany’s submarines inoperative. Germany needs to fix this quickly.