According to the majority of western websites that deal with military analysis, In 2024 the German army would continue its process of modernization and rearmament but while remaining in a state such as to show serious personnel deficiencies. And now that this state is also documented by a report presented to Parliament on Tuesday 11 March and presented by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces Eva Högel, This report, on an annual basis, outlines the status quo of the army while highlighting the main needs that emerged from the invasion of the Ukraine of 2022. Since then, the armed forces have undergone a profound transformation by receiving an important injection of funding, hundreds of billions of euros, together to occupy a more important role internationally. For example, last autumn the country ratified an agreement to position its first brigade permanently abroad, a force of 5,000 men and whose structures are currently under construction in Lithuania.
In the meantime, since the time of the Second World War, The Bundeswehr Navy found himself shooting for the first time in absolute real bullets in a combat context, and this happened to the Hessen frigate during the mission of the European Union in progress in the Red Sea to protect the navigation routes from the attacks of the Hoodi Yemeniti rebels. These interventions, always according to the Högel report, led Germany in 2024 to reach a military expenditure of over 2% of GDP with over 69 billion euros. About a quarter of this figure was financed by the injection of money a lotum announced by the chancellor Scholz in the form of “Sondervermögen”, a special fund of the value of 100 billion euros created immediately after the Russian invasion of Ukraine but now spent for almost 80% since, last year, the government budget commission approved a record of 97 important purchase orders compared to the previous 55 of the previous year.
But it was a late intervention after decades of spending reductions due to governments led by Angela Merkel. Many of these “new orders” returned to the field of air defense, which is in itself a fundamental priority highlighted in this year’s report; For example, on the armored front, in 2024, Germany decided to buy both the Skyranger 30 from Rheinmetall and the Arrow 3 from Israel. The country has also ordered new Leopard combat armed wagons and 22 self -propelled obeci to replace those sent to Ukraine. All solved? At all, because money, alone, cannot solve some problems such as the state of military personnel. Although the recruitment increased by 8%, bringing the new staff to more than 20,000 last year, over 25% of these soldiers left the assignment after the trial period lasting six months, mainly for economic reasons, as the pay of a soldier ranges between 1,500 and 1,900 euros per month. Thus the Bundeswehr now has 21,826 units on a goal, practically unattainable, of 203,000. That they would not all fighters, but also part of the strength that must be reserved for cybernetic and computer war.
The same report also describes an alarming situation which would derive from the presence in the ranks of the armed force of a minority of soldiers with extremist right opinions. And now that the incoming government coalition, made up of conservatives and social democrats. He promised to continue on the path of revitalization and strengthening of the country’s military power, the incoming chancellor Friedrich Merz suggested exempting the expense for the defense from the roof of the debt sanctioned by the constitution of the country, a maneuver that would have been unthinkable in the rigid Germany of the last few years. Now the Rearm Europe plan will undoubtedly be able to solve any internal dissensions, nourish the military industry and unlock supplies of modern means, but will not be able to convince young Germans to enlist.
