An often used reference to the GDP of Spain says nothing about Russia’s military potential. Instead, Russia’s defense budget gives them the same purchasing power as Germany, France, and the United Kingdom combined.
Germany
Germany buys six C-130 transport and tanker planes for French-German squadron
The U.S. State Department has approved Germany’s purchase of three C-130J transport aircraft and three KC-130J tanker aircraft. Germany will use them in a combined French-German squadron where France also contributes with four C-130Js.
Powerful maritime patrol UAVs to Germany
U.S. State Department has approved the sale of MQ-4C Triton drones to Germany. It is a terrific UAV which will give Germany a powerful surveillance capability. And this time the drone has an approved anti-collision system, so there is hope for more success than in Germany’s earlier adventures with the EuroHawk.
New report on Germany’s troubled equipment status
Deutsche Welle: Many primary weapons systems in the Bundeswehr are not available for training exercises or deployment, according to a new Defense Ministry study. The “Report on the Operational Readiness of the Bundeswehr’s Primary Weapons Systems 2017,” which has been seen by the Reuters news agency and the RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland media group, is set to […]
Russian sea denial in the Baltic Sea
Tobias Oder has this interesting analysis of Russia’s sea denial capabilities in the Baltic Sea on cimsec.org. Essentially, the point is that they can close the Eastern part of the Baltic Sea quite effectively, should they want to. Oder’s analysis is written from a German perspective, but I think many of his recommendations could be […]
More on Germany’s trouble to keep equipment moving
Sébastien Roblin for The National Interest in a piece called Germany Does Not Have One Working Submarine: One unfortunate consequence is that the submarine crews are completely unable to gain badly needed operational experience. Only by mid-2018 will three German submarines be operational, followed by possibly a fourth that November. But the kicker is that […]
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+ […]
Former NATO chief Rasmussen calls Nord Stream 2 a trap for Germany
Former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen to Bild: “Of course, everyone knows the direct link between Mr Schröder and Gazprom but I think the SPD’s view on Nord Stream goes back to Willy Brandt’s Ostpolitik and a view that cross-border commerce can help to build a rapprochement between estranged states. This is a noble […]
Germany will probably replace Tornado with F-35
It looks like Germany might join the F-35 family around 2025. According to Janes the Joint Strike Fighter is the preferred choice as a replacement for the Tornado. The Tornado will retire around 2030, and the transition to its successor will take about five years. It makes a lot of sense to replace the Tornado […]
All of Germany’s submarines are broken
A few weeks ago I passed the German submarine U 35 in Kattegat, and as always the encounter with a submarine caused a bit of attention on the bridge. She was heading North, and we suspected that she was going to Skagerrak for some test dives. Turns out we were right. Unfortunately she also hit […]