Sharp criticism of Pistorius
Defense company: We can no longer defend Berlin
15.06.2024, 07:47
There is no need to worry about one on German soil – even though there have already been threats from Russia. The arms company KNDS believes that the Federal Republic’s defense capabilities are already severely limited – and criticizes Defense Minister Pistorius.
The head of the defense company KNDS cannot see that the current federal government is strengthening Germany’s defense capabilities. He has not seen any turnaround in orders so far. “The vast majority of our orders in 2023 did not come from Germany, but from other NATO countries,” said Frank Haun, whose company produces the Leopard 2 battle tank, among other things, to the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”.
At the same time, Haun stressed: “We only have around 300 operational battle tanks left in Germany. That’s why I often say: we can still defend Augsburg with them, but not Munich and Berlin.”
The likelihood of having to defend Augsburg, Munich or Berlin on the ground is likely to be low – especially if Ukraine is equipped with everything it needs to ward off the Russian invasion. However, there have been threats from Russia in the past towards Germany. Military experts such as Carlo Masala believe that if Russia achieves military success in Ukraine, it is more likely that Putin’s next target could be one or more Baltic states, as he told the Funke newspapers at the end of last year. This would probably bring NATO into play, and thus Germany too. The German army is stationed in Lithuania.
“I hope there is more to come”
If the Bundeswehr is to be better equipped, more money is needed, the KNDS chief continued. Politicians must set priorities. “What has he done so far to strengthen the Bundeswehr?” said Haun about Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius. “He is replacing old Tornados with F-35 aircraft so that nuclear participation is ensured. He is buying helicopters because the old CH-53s have to go. He has concluded a framework agreement with us for 123 Leopard tanks and has ordered 18 so far, just as many as Germany has delivered to Ukraine,” said the KNDS chief. He made it clear: “I hope there is more to come from Berlin.”
The KNDS boss also expressed his dissatisfaction with the federal government with regard to existing delivery difficulties. He “doesn’t really see” any political effort to implement something that could be described as a raw materials strategy. “There is a lot of talk, but in Germany the raw materials strategy is implemented internally in the purchasing department,” said Haun. “Nobody knows a number in Berlin where they can get help.”
When it comes to armor steel, where KNDS currently only has one Swedish supplier, he personally pointed out the bottlenecks in Berlin. “This was noted, but nothing happened,” reports the KNDS boss.
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, defense companies such as KNDS and rival Rheinmetall have seen a large increase in orders and are earning billions. On the one hand, a lot of material is going to Ukraine, and on the other hand, many of the country’s partners are trying to replenish their own stocks and modernize troops.