Berlin promises faster rearmament and dozens of major projects to modernize the Bundeswehr. The move signals a wider shift in Europe’s security posture.
Germany plans to reach the target level of defense spending at 3.5% of GDP as early as 2029.
During a speech at the Bundeswehr Management Academy in Hamburg, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that this goal would be reached in the specified year.
According to the head of the ministry, this year more than 100 defense projects, each worth over 25 million euros, will be submitted to the Bundestag for approval.
He emphasized that the German government is responding to the changing security situation with a major rearmament and reform of the defense sector. He also noted that security challenges today are global in nature, and Europe is at the center of attention for both allies and adversaries.
“Our partners look at Europe. And at the same time our strategic rivals also look at Europe. What we do in Europe, how we position ourselves, matters”
– Boris Pistorius
According to the minister, support for Ukraine from its allies affects the situation far beyond Europe:
“Support for Ukraine affects Taiwan or the situation in the Indo-Pacific region. We can increasingly no longer view security solely in geographic terms”
– Boris Pistorius
According to the German Defense Ministry, by the end of the decade Germany plans to invest around 16 billion euros in developing the Bundeswehr’s drone capabilities.
Overall, these steps underscore Germany’s systematic modernization of its defense capabilities in response to global challenges and the sustained strategic focus on Europe within the global security framework.
Thus, the government continues to implement an ambitious program to modernize the armed forces and strengthen defense capabilities to meet new risks and support stability in the region and the world.