William Molinié, edited by Laura Laplaud
Germany, which wishes to become the leading army in Europe, shows its ambitions and sets up an exceptional fund of 100 billion euros to modernize its army. Faced with slipping European projects, Germany has decided to turn to the United States, from which it has already ordered 35 fighter planes.
The war in Ukraine leads Europe on the road to armament. Germany now has the ambition to become the leading army in Europe. Sébastien Lecornu, the Minister of the Armed Forces, is expected this Thursday in Berlin to meet with his German counterpart. Objective: to convince him to do more with the French and less with the Americans.
This trip comes a week after a remarkable exit from the Chief of Staff of the German army: “I want equipment that flies, that rolls and that is available on the market,” he said. “No development of European solutions which, in the end, do not work.”
100 billion euros to modernize the German army
It referred to the air combat system of the future, the SCAF, as well as the combat tank of the future. Two European programs that skate. However, the Germans have already announced a fund of 100 billion euros for the renovation of the army. They want guns right there, right now.
The Germans therefore turned to the Americans, from whom they ordered 35 F35 fighter planes, almost at the same time burying the idea of a Defense Europe.
A rise in power watched closely by France
This rise in power of the German army is scrutinized very closely by the French armies. Because it is the whole of the Franco-German balance which is upset with this objective of the German army: to become the first conventional army in Europe. Eyes are mainly on the other side of the Atlantic. One of the fears is that the Americans will massively invest the German field and that this first European army will in reality become American.
“Even if it will undoubtedly be well equipped, we do not see how the Germans will be able to harden their soldiers in such a short time”, relativizes one in the French General Staffs. Still, several sources within the armies are worried about seeing a very strong German army return to the European theater. “We can’t say that it worked for us in the last century,” we quip.
Even if since then, France has acquired life insurance with nuclear deterrence.