Germany is set to spend €100 billion ($107 billion) to boost its military. Der Spiegel magazine says it has obtained the spending plan and reported on Tuesday that the bulk of the money will go towards strengthening the country’s air force.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz proposed the spending spree in February, but it took German lawmakers months to agree on the details. Parliament is expected to vote on the special fund on Friday.
According to Der Spiegel, the German Air Force will receive €40.9 billion ($44 billion) to be spent on new Eurofighter jets, transport helicopters and replacements for the aging fleet of Tornado multirole aircraft. Some of the replacements will be US-built F35s. Germany also wants to modernize its air defense and develop TWISTER, the EU’s space-based anti-missile defense system.
The second-largest investment, according to the report, will be the digitalization of command and control systems. A whopping €20.7 billion ($22 billion) will go towards other items including new digital radios for troops, and new communication satellites.
The German Navy will receive €19.3 billion ($21 billion). This will pay for new Braunschweig-class corvettes, F126 frigates, and Type 212CD attack submarines. The navy also wants reconnaissance aircraft, a new missile weapons system for surface ships, and a new anti-aircraft system for submarines. It also intends to purchase multipurpose combat boats and modern submarine detection sensors.
The army will get a €16.6 billion ($18 billion) financial shot, prioritizing the procurement of Puma infantry fighting vehicles to replace the aging Marders, according to Der Spiegel. The land forces also want to finance a replacement for the TPz Fuchs armored personnel carriers, as well as purchasing armored fighting vehicles and all-terrain carriers. Some of the money may go towards the development of a new European battle tank, the magazine said.
The rest of the special fund will be used to purchase better uniforms and tactical equipment for troops, for research, development and AI. Those areas will receive €1.9 billion ($2 billion) and €422 million ($450 million) in funding respectively, the report said. Among other things, the investment will go towards protecting the German navigation systems from enemy electronic jamming tech and AI-assisted surveillance.
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