According to reports from “Welt am Sonntag” and “Spiegel”, the Ministry of Defense has reacted to criticism from the Federal Court of Auditors and revised the economic plan for the 100 billion euro debt fund to better equip the Bundeswehr. The department of Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) is putting six armament projects on a waiting list, the media reports. The deputy inspector general Markus Laubenthal reported this to the budget and defense committees of the Bundestag.
The army and especially the navy are particularly affected by the cuts. Accordingly, the procurement of a successor model for the armored personnel carrier “Fuchs” of the army is initially postponed. The Navy has to do without a fifth and sixth frigate 126. According to the report, the number of Corvettes 130 will also be reduced from ten to six.
The IDAS system for better self-protection of submarines against air threats is to be further developed, but procurement is on the waiting list. Furthermore, the number of Boeing P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft to be purchased in the USA will be reduced from twelve to eight.
The reason is technical deficiencies in the procurement list initially drawn up by the ministry, reports the “Spiegel”. In an interim report for the budget deliberations, the Federal Court of Auditors criticized the fact that the plans for the special budget presented by Lambrechts Haus had “significant deficiencies” and had to be “fundamentally” revised.
The Bundeswehr planners had therefore listed dozens of armament projects whose costs exceeded the 100 billion euro range by almost ten billion euros. According to the report, the ministry had apparently also overlooked the fact that the special fund must be structured dynamically, i.e. it must take into account both price increases and interest on the debt.
