{"id":173,"date":"2025-07-13T20:09:29","date_gmt":"2025-07-13T20:09:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/?p=173"},"modified":"2025-07-13T20:09:29","modified_gmt":"2025-07-13T20:09:29","slug":"german-defence-minister-calls-on-arms-makers-to-deliver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/?p=173","title":{"rendered":"German defence minister calls on arms makers to deliver"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Germany\u2019s defence minister has told weapons makers to stop complaining and \u201cdeliver\u201d on re-arming Europe, as he called for production to increase to match his country\u2019s booming spending plans.<\/p>\n

Boris Pistorius told the Financial Times his government had addressed long-standing industry concerns by streamlining hundreds of billions of euros of new military spending.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no reason to complain any more,\u201d Pistorius said in the FT interview. \u201cThe industry knows perfectly well that it is now responsible for delivering.\u201d<\/p>\n

The industrial groups had to hold up their end of the bargain, he said, as Europe seeks to deter Russian aggression amid waning US interest in the continent\u2019s security. Berlin is aiming to raise its annual defence spending to \u20ac162bn by 2029, a 70 per cent increase from this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, we still experience delays in individual projects, where everything seems settled, and then delays occur on the industry side \u2014 which I then have to account for,\u201d Pistorius said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIndustry needs to ramp up its capacities. That applies to ammunition, to drones, to tanks \u2014 really to almost every area.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Boris<\/picture>
Boris Pistorius: \u2018We need a system that renews itself through continuous deliveries over many years, so that the number of operational tanks always stays the same.\u2019<\/span> \u00a9 Leonhard Simon\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The 65-year-old Social Democrat is tasked with delivering a \u201cZeitenwende\u201d \u2014 or sea change \u2014 in his country\u2019s approach to defence. The aim, announced three years ago after Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, is to transform the armed forces after decades of under-investment and give Germany a leading role in European security. <\/p>\n

Pistorius is due to meet US secretary of defence Pete Hegseth in Washington on Monday where he said he would discuss a \u201croad map\u201d for US security support for Europe. A widely expected reduction should not leave capability gaps that would risk \u201cmaking an invitation to Putin\u201d, he warned. <\/p>\n

Also on the agenda is Ukraine and the pressing issue of US Patriot air defence systems, after deliveries to Kyiv were paused by Washington. Berlin has already given three of its once 12-strong stock of the critical Patriot systems to Kyiv.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe only have six left in Germany,\u201d Pistorius said, adding that two others had been lent to Poland and at least one was always unavailable due to maintenance or training. \u201cThat\u2019s really too few, especially considering the Nato capability goals we have to meet. We definitely can\u2019t give any more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pistorius said he would discuss a proposal he made to Hegseth last month to let Germany buy two Patriot systems from the US for Kyiv. <\/p>\n

But he said Germany would not deliver its long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine despite a wave of recent Russia air attacks and a renewed request from Kyiv.<\/p>\n

\"Boris<\/picture>
Boris Pistorius said the country had been quicker than he expected to accept the need to re-arm<\/span> \u00a9 Gordon Welters\/FT<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The minister also rejected joint borrowing or eurobonds at EU level to help indebted countries such as France and Italy increase defence spending. Asked about proposals for such borrowing, he said: \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEurobonds mean that those who have already done or are doing their homework pay for what others don\u2019t do,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Pistorius said his ministry was working on a procurement plan for equipment including tanks, submarines, drones and fighter jets well into the 2030s, to make good on conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz\u2019s pledge to make the German army Europe\u2019s strongest.<\/p>\n

Long-term contracts with \u201cregular annual purchase obligations\u201d would aim to address the long-standing industry complaint that it cannot invest in expensive new production lines without certainty about future orders.<\/p>\n

The measure would prevent German soldiers from lumbering around with outdated weapons, he said. In 2022, as Europe reeled from Russian President Vladimir Putin\u2019s invasion of Ukraine, the then head of the German army said its troops were virtually \u201cempty-handed\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe weakness in the past was always that replacements were only procured once the existing ones were practically gone or broken,\u201d Pistorius said. \u201cWe need a system that renews itself through continuous deliveries over many years, so that the number of operational tanks always stays the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Boris<\/picture>
Boris Pistorius: \u2018I\u2019ve always been convinced that if you want to talk about peace and d\u00e9tente on equal terms, you can only do that from a position of strength.\u2019<\/span> \u00a9 Gordon Welters\/FT<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On drones, where innovation is taking place at a dizzying pace, he pledged that Germany would ensure the armed forces only received \u201cstate of the art\u201d products. He added he would allow advance payments to arms producers: \u201cThese are all new instruments intended to help the industry gain momentum.\u201d<\/p>\n

A report published last month by the think-tank Bruegel and the\u00a0Kiel Institute for the World Economy found that European ammunition and artillery manufacturing capacity had increased substantially\u00a0over the past three years. But it warned that the production rate of the battle tank used by many European nations \u2014 the Leopard 2A8 made by the Franco-German KNDS, with a gun made by Rheinmetall \u2014 continued to lag behind that of US and Russian equivalents.<\/p>\n

Even as he called for the industry to speed up, Pistorius said he was seeking to improve procurement. \u201cWe need to get faster. We need to become more effective. We need to throw rules overboard when it comes to procurement and planning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Known as a straight talker and a staunch supporter of Ukraine, Pistorius has emerged as the country\u2019s favourite politician since becoming defence minister. He is the only member of the previous cabinet, led by Olaf Scholz, to have remained in post since the change of government in May.<\/p>\n

Pistorius said the country had been quicker than he expected to accept the need to re-arm. He pointed to surveys showing that a majority of the population supported higher defence spending as well as the introduction of a voluntary form of military service, due next year. \u201cThis mindset change is in full swing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

A native of Osnabr\u00fcck in the north-western state of Lower Saxony, where British soldiers were stationed to protect what was Nato\u2019s eastern flank during the cold war, Pistorius said he stood out within his party for opting for military service rather than a civilian alternative.<\/p>\n

He was also in favour of the deployment of US Pershing II missiles in West Germany in the 1980s, when most of his fellow Social Democrats demonstrated against it. More recently he has been criticised by the party\u2019s old guard, who have been pushing for a d\u00e9tente with Moscow.<\/p>\n

\"Boris<\/picture>
Renowned as a straight talker and a staunch supporter of Ukraine, Boris Pistorius, left, has emerged as Germany\u2019s favourite politician since becoming defence minister<\/span> \u00a9 Jens B\u00fcttner\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always been convinced that if you want to talk about peace and d\u00e9tente on equal terms, you can only do that from a position of strength, only from eye level,\u201d he said. \u201cNot to intimidate anyone, but to make it clear that we know what we can do \u2014 we want to live in peace with you, but don\u2019t think that we\u2019re weak or that we won\u2019t defend ourselves. That is still true today.\u201d<\/p>\n

The inauguration this year of a permanent brigade of German soldiers in Lithuania to guard the Baltic state \u2014 one of Pistorius\u2019s flagship projects \u2014 was a strong symbol of Germany\u2019s commitment to Nato almost four decades after the collapse of the iron curtain, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe British, the Americans and the French were in Germany to protect our eastern flank,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd today, Lithuania, the Baltic states, Poland are the eastern flank and we must make a contribution there.\u201d<\/p>\n

He insisted that troops from Germany, which for years had a culture of military restraint in response to the horrors of the second world war, would be willing to kill Russian soldiers in the event of an attack by Moscow on a Nato member state.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf deterrence doesn\u2019t work and Russia attacks, is it going to happen? Yes,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I would recommend that you simply go to Vilnius and talk to the representatives of the German brigade there. They know exactly what their job is.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

#German #defence #minister #calls #arms #makers #deliver<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Germany\u2019s defence minister has told weapons makers to stop complaining and \u201cdeliver\u201d on re-arming Europe, as he called for production to increase to match his country\u2019s booming spending plans. Boris Pistorius told the Financial Times his government had addressed long-standing industry concerns by streamlining hundreds of billions of euros of new military spending. \u201cThere is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":174,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[73,201,200,189,199,202,57],"class_list":{"0":"post-173","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-arms","9":"tag-calls","10":"tag-defence","11":"tag-deliver","12":"tag-german","13":"tag-makers","14":"tag-minister"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=173"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}