The Bundeswehr has an equipment problem. Should Germany be involved in a war, the army would probably only have ammunition for two days. The military commissioner shows how much money it would take to fill the arsenals.
If Germany were at war, the ammunition in Bundeswehr stocks would last a maximum of one to two days. Representatives of the armaments industry, experts and defense politicians in the Bundestag say this unanimously to “Business Insider”. Germany is thus lagging far behind its obligations. According to a NATO specification, the reserves should last at least 30 days.
Anyone who is undersupplied and also sells material will quickly order new material – one would think so. Apparently that hasn’t happened yet. Hans Christoph Atzpodien, General Manager of the Federal Association of the German Security and Defense Industry (BDSV), sounds the alarm: “Of course, this description of the situation will not improve if ammunition from Bundeswehr stocks is handed over and corresponding orders are not placed with the industry at the same time,” he said Business Insider.
Eva Högl, Defense Commissioner of the German Bundestag, warns in an interview with “Business Insider”: “We would need an additional 20 billion euros for the procurement of ammunition alone. At the same time, there are not enough ammunition stores. That shows that a great deal of effort is still needed here.” Some experts say that a total package of up to 30 billion euros will be necessary by 2030. However, the ammunition is to be paid for from the current defense budget, not from the special fund.
The armaments industry is particularly irritated by the procedures and processes in the armed forces in relation to the procurement of ammunition. Industry representatives report that after Russia’s attack on Ukraine, offers were made to produce faster and more, for example to switch to three-shift operation in factories. So far, however, there have been no significant orders. The Ministry of Defense and the procurement office of the Bundeswehr hesitated.
After all, as Business Insider learned, 19 so-called “25 million templates” are planned by the end of the year. With these templates procurement projects are started at the Bundeswehr. Ammunition is also to be purchased from a number of these, including various intelligent and particularly long-range grenades for the Panzerhaubitze 2000 and 30-millimeter ammunition for the Puma infantry fighting vehicle.
