German army not in position to defend country well, warns top general

BERLIN

Germany's chief of defense has warned that the country’s armed forces are not in a position to defend the country well in case of a foreign attack.

Speaking at the Handelsblatt’s “Security and Defense 2024” conference, Gen. Carsten Breuer underlined that the German armed forces need new capabilities and weapons to become “fit for war” again.

“This question is asked quite often, so let me put it this way. If we were attacked now, could we defend ourselves? Yes, we would. But could we do it well? No, we couldn’t,” Breuer told the conference participants.

He underlined that with the latest procurement contracts German armed forces will be able to close the gap between available weapons, and the required military capabilities.

“We would likely be able to bridge this gap in two to three years, in any case, it will be in less than five, or eight years,” he added.

Germany decided to massively increase defense spending after the Russia-Ukraine war and set up a €100 billion ($108 billion) special fund to purchase advanced weapon systems and modernize the country’s armed forces.

As part of the plan, the government already concluded several contracts, including the purchase of US-made F-35 stealth fighter jets, Chinook transport helicopters, and the Israeli Arrow-3 missile defense system.