Europe rearms: Bundeswehr gets 21 billion in new projects

As Europe looks to rearm, Germany is a key player, both industrially and militarily. The Bundeswehr provides vital mass and firepower so it is encouraging to see the large-scale procurement and replenishment of capabilities. The following was originally published by Lars Hoffmann on the Hartpunkt website on the 18th December 2024. Calibre and Hartpunkt are collaborating to bring you the best content from across Europe.

The Budget Committee of the German Bundestag today set the course for better equipment for the Bundeswehr by approving 38 “25 million euro proposals.” As the Ministry of Defence wrote in a statement, the armament projects have a total volume of around 21 billion euros. Financing will be provided via the Special Fund (around 7 billion euros), via Individual Plan 14 and, in the case of one proposal – the Patriot replacement – via Individual Plan 60.  As Pistorius explained, projects for all branches of the armed forces and in all dimensions were approved. 

After these decisions, the total number of approved procurement projects has risen to 97. Previously, 59 major projects had been approved this year, compared to 55 projects in 2023. In light of this achievement, the Defence Minister Boris Pistorius explicitly thanked the President of the Bundeswehr Procurement Office (BAAINBw) Annette Lehnigk-Emden and “her great team” for their work. “The Procurement Office has turned the tide,” Pistorius said.

In the run-up to today’s meeting, it was not clear whether all projects would receive a majority in the committee due to the breakdown of the Traffic Light Coalition. Ultimately, however, the most important factions agreed on a joint approach, Pistorius then thanked the CDU, SPD, Greens and FDP for their support.

Class 212CD

Some major projects stand out from the announcement, including confirmation of the Class 212CD submarine procurement. Hartpunkt wrote the following in a separate piece covering this development. 

The cost of four new boats from the 212CD class is around 4.7 billion euros, which includes spare parts packages and training. After the official conclusion of the contract, the shipyard thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (tkMS) is to receive a down payment of one billion euros, which will be used, among other things, to build a second production line for submarines at the Wismar site. The influx is then planned for the 2030s. In addition to Germany, Norway also wants to piggyback on two more U212CDs. For tkMS, this means that the shipyard group can put around 7.4 billion euros in its order books for six new submarines.

PULS

Land precision strike is seen as critical for modern warfare, it is non-negotiable. In a separate article, here is what Hartpunkt wrote on the Bundeswehr’s decision to buy new PULS launchers. 

Five PULS (Purpose Universal Launching System) multiple rocket launchers can be procured, which will replace five MARS II rocket artillery systems delivered to Ukraine and form the basis for the Bundeswehr’s future rocket artillery system. As already reported , the Bundeswehr’s intention is to initially purchase five rocket artillery systems via an option within the framework of a contract between the Dutch and Israeli governments. Important industrial contractors are the Israeli arms company Elbit Systems and the Munich-based arms company KNDS Deutschland.

Protected skies

Air defence is often a numbers game – do you have enough interceptors and launchers to cover the infrastructure in question? To that end, Germany’s addition of new missiles is important to note, Hartpunkt wrote the following. 

The Bundestag’s budget committee approved the procurement of a total of 248 PAC-3 MSE surface-to-air guided missiles from Lockheed Martin. The missiles are needed to equip the German Air Force’s Patriot air defence systems. The German Armed Forces have a lot of catching up to do in terms of ground-based air defence.

Two different €25 million proposals for the purchase of the missiles were approved today: one proposal for 120 guided missiles, which will be paid for as additional procurement from the Individual Budget 14 and the Bundeswehr special fund; a further tranche of 128 missiles, the purchase of which will be paid for from the Individual Budget 60. The 128 PAC 3 MSE and 16 new launchers will be purchased as replacements for material given to Ukraine. Support services for Ukraine are typically financed from the Individual Budget 60. According to reports, the total volume of the two proposals is around €1.63 billion.

The Bundeswehr’s 38 new projects:

1. Order of 300 military light off-road trucks from existing framework agreement, subject: successor truck WOLF, command and military police tasks
2. Exercise of option for 25,000 sets of image intensifier glasses – cross-sectional – from the contract for the procurement of 16,041 sets of image intensifier glasses – cross-sectional – and 8,423 head-mounted systems, subject: call-up of existing industrial stocks
3. Order for 65 protected Class 3 command and functional vehicles from the DINGO 2 A4.1 family. 
4. Procurement of PULS rocket launchers including their integration (adaptation development), subject: entry into the long-range indirect fire system – joint Dutch-German procurement
5. Framework agreement with a firm contract for the production of an operational stockpile of reactive protection modules for the Bundeswehr PUMA infantry fighting vehicle, subject: full equipment of reactive protection modules and storage containers.
6. Conclusion of a 5th amendment to the contract for the provision of supplies and services within the framework of the fiscal provision of clothing and personal equipment (follow-up solution clothing management), subject: modernization of clothing, increase in budget for replacement purchases
7. Obsolescence elimination of the inertial reference system of the NH90 helicopter fleet
8. Procurement measure NATO helicopter 90 – initial spare parts requirement, subject: procurement of spare and replacement parts
9. Framework agreement for the manufacture and supply of thermal imaging observation devices, dismounted, long range with accessories, subject: hand-held device for detecting targets up to approx. 2,000 meters
10. Framework agreement for the manufacture and supply of thermal imaging sights, dismounted, long range including all components and accessories, subject: attachment for precision rifle G27/28 and machine gun (MG) 5
11. Framework agreement with firm order for hand grenade explosive/fragmentation DM 51 series with hand grenade fuse DM82 series, firm order for hand grenade explosive/fragmentation DM 51 series with hand grenade fuse DM82 series
12. Procurement and integration of six Directed Infrared Countermeasures (DIRCM) systems in six C-130J aircraft
13. Development project transfer and extension of the German-Spanish development contract for the EUROFIGHTER ESCAN Radar Mk1, subject: development of a radar for EUROFIGHTER (Germany/Spain)
14. Procurement of PATRIOT PAC-3 MSE guided missiles, subject: additional procurement of 120 LFK PAC-3
15. Procurement of 128 PATRIOT PAC-3 MSE guided missiles and 16 PATRIOT PAC-3 MSE launcher conversion kits
16. Development project Mandatory capability maintenance of short-range LFK IRIS-T (Block II), subject: service life extension of LFK IRIS-T
17. Development project Long-term development Technical maturity phase of the EUROFIGHTER weapon system, subject: Growth potential EUROFIGHTER
18. Obsolescence elimination at three command posts of the Air Force Command System (FüSys LuSK) including existing reference and test systems
19. Conclusion of a procurement contract for the manufacture and delivery, installation and commissioning of a space surveillance radar (WRÜbwR) designed for permanent operation
20. Procurement and installation of the self-protection system “Integration Directed Infrared Countermeasures” (DIRCM) in three Airbus A350-900s of the Federal Ministry of Defence’s Air Force
21. Framework agreement on the second major overhaul and on measures to maintain the capabilities of the weapon system Modular Distance Weapon Target Adaptive Unitary and DispensernRobotic Ubiquity System Kinetic Energy Penetrator and Destroyer (MAW TAURUS KEPD 350), subject: service life extension and obsolescence elimination TAURUS
22. Procurement of 4 additional submarines 212 CD
23. Procurement of services to prepare the implementation of the Next Generation Frigate-Air Defence F127 project, US shares Aegis Combat System, subject: preparatory measures for the F127 frigate project
24. Contract for the development and qualification of a guided missile unit consisting of a guided missile and ejection device for the active self-defence of submarines against attacks from the air, subject: Guided missile for submarines against air targets (IDAS) for the U212A
25. Procurement measure for guided missiles Evolved Seasparrow Missile Block 2, subject: anti-aircraft guided missile for frigates F124 / F126
26. Implementation of the project “Distributed Training Architecture of the Navy” (VTAM), subject: networking of various training centers for joint simulation-based exercises
27. Framework agreement with firm contract for the regeneration and quantity adjustment of modular medical facilities (MSE): rescue stations ballistically protected (RSt bg) and unprotected (RSt ug), subject: containerized treatment facilities, ROLE 1 protected and unprotected
28. Order for 185 unprotected militarized transport vehicles, payload class 15t and 164 unprotected militarized transport vehicles, payload class 5t, Subject: Procurement of unprotected transport vehicles for the Lithuania Brigade
29. Order of 98 unprotected and 121 protected ZLK 15 t trucks with swap body
30. Third order from the existing framework agreement (6th amendment agreement and new version) for the procurement of joint armed forces radio equipment (SVFuA) and other command radios, subject: 1,147 SVFuA and 12,000 additional command radios (vehicle radios) for D-LBO
31. Integration of command radio components in platforms (vehicles and functional rooms/cabins of the Bundeswehr’s land forces (HAI D-LBO) as well as consent to the use of commitment authorizations for the contract parts (sub-projects) not budgeted for in Epl. 14 in Chapter 1405 Title 554 38) series equipment, in particular existing platforms Cluster 8, subject matter: main contract for sample and series integration
32. Procurement contract with fixed order shares for the D-LBO IT system integration, subject: basis for functional IT system D-LBO
33. Framework agreement with fixed call-off for network service team (RS NServTrp), subject: procurement of equipment for cable construction teams
34. Contract for the maintenance of operational readiness of IT systems Electronic Warfare (EK) Support Systems Center Electronic Warfare (Zentr EK) Flying Weapon Systems (FlgWaSys), subject: adaptation of the IT structure for flying weapon systems Electronic Warfare
35. Conclusion of a procurement framework agreement with a firm order within the framework of the Bundeswehr Crypto Modernization Project, Subproject 2a (KryptoMBw TP2a) “Multicrypto and Multi-range Key Device” for the procurement of key devices of the “ED7 device family”, subject: Framework agreement for cross-sectional key devices in various platforms)
36. Framework agreement VESUV – manufacture and delivery of data transport device Digital III, subject matter: manufacture and delivery of obsolescence-removed DTD III and software development services
37. Commissioning of BWI GmbH to implement and operate the data center network in the business area of ​​the Federal Ministry of Defense, subject: provision of data center capacities and cloud-based infrastructure
38. Procurement/Development German Mission Network Block 1, Solution Complement 1.2, Deployable Data Center Series (GMN 1 LK1.2 vRz Series), Subject: Procurement of 24 deployable data centres.