“There is a lack of infrastructure everywhere”
Lambrecht wants to open new ammunition depots
12/24/2022, 9:11 am
The defense minister is repeatedly criticized. Her house is learning to “live the turning point even more strongly,” says Lambrecht. For example, she announces the opening of new ammunition depots that her predecessors had closed.
The Federal Ministry of Defense has launched a pilot project to build and reopen ammunition depots for the German armed forces. “We lack depots because they were closed under my predecessors. That will change now,” said Federal Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht of the “Welt am Sonntag”. The Bundeswehr lacks infrastructure everywhere, said the SPD politician.
In the course of the pilot project, close cooperation with the building authorities of the federal states is planned, Lambrecht added. Four ammunition depots and material stores were reactivated this year. “Two more will follow next year, and then two more.” Further new buildings for ammunition storage are in the planning stage.
In addition, more was invested in ammunition this year “than in the last 20 years,” said the minister. “We will top that in 2023 because we managed to get additional funds from the Budget Committee.” According to Lambrecht, only weapon systems with the associated ammunition should be purchased in the future. “That’s exactly what has been neglected for many years,” she explained.
After about a year in office, Lambrecht sees room for improvements in her ministry. Her employees did a great job, she told the newspaper. “But I believe that we in the entire Bundeswehr must learn to live the turning point even more vigorously,” said Lambrecht. This includes increasing personal responsibility, sometimes taking unconventional paths and not always immediately explaining why something isn’t working. “We have to get better at that.”
After the debacle surrounding the recent failure of the Puma infantry fighting vehicle, which was developed in Germany and which continues to have serious defects, Lambrecht said she does not want any special German solutions. “I want solutions that are right for the Bundeswehr.” She is convinced that the future of German armaments lies in joint projects and not in purely national developments. That is why they want to develop the next generation of combat aircraft at European level.