“Now the industry has to deliver”
Special assets: Bundeswehr places many orders
08/17/2023 1:59 p.m
The Bundeswehr gets weapons, ammunition and more from a special fund of 100 billion euros. The Federal Office for Equipment is pleased: “Pleasing” many projects are “done and sealed” – and more and more money is tied up. But there are no payments yet.
Around two-thirds of the EUR 100 billion special fund for the Bundeswehr will be tied up in contracts by the end of the year. “So that means we have placed orders,” said the President of the Federal Office for Equipment, Information Technology and Use of the Bundeswehr (BAAINBw), Annette Lehnigk-Emden, to journalists in Koblenz. The remaining third should be contractually bound over the course of the next year. Now the industry has to deliver, said Lehnigk-Emden.
The authority is very aware of the special task that the implementation of the special fund entails. “A pleasing number of projects is sealed,” said the head of the agency. “The fact that no payments have been made is in the nature of things, that payments are tied to contractual milestones.” Payment is only made once these have been reached.
The Russian war of aggression in Ukraine has had a major impact on the agency’s work, she said. Lehnigk-Emden added that the Federal Office, which has repeatedly been criticized for being cumbersome, overly bureaucratic and inefficient in recent years, is becoming faster.
“The Guns Shoot, The Planes Fly”
This includes simplifying and accelerating the procurement process. The days of multiple test loops are over. “In this much-cited turning point, we are the turning point engine,” she added. “Our office is doing well and is doing a lot,” said Lehnigk-Emden. “The guns shoot, the planes fly.” In 2022, the authority concluded around 11,860 procurement contracts.
Lehnigk-Emden has been President of the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) in Koblenz since April 2023. The mammoth authority with its more than 10,000 employees is responsible for equipping the Bundeswehr with efficient and safe defense technology.
According to information from the IFO Institute, only about half of the special fund of 100 billion euros can be used to purchase additional equipment for the Bundeswehr. The Munich researchers announced in July that 33 percent of the total only offset savings in the defense budget in the core budget. Eight percent would have to be spent on interest.